Guide
Games like Strands
You finished today's Strands and want another theme-and-trace puzzle. Here is how the closest options differ, and where Onword fits.
What Strands actually asks
NYT Strands gives you a 6 by 8 grid of letters and a theme. You drag through adjacent letters to find the theme words, and one of them, the spangram, stretches across the board. The words are separate. Find them all and the board is done.
Most lists of games like Strands point at the same handful: Squaredle, a timed word hunt, Spelltower, Connections, Spelling Bee. Those share one piece of Strands each. Squaredle shares the drag. Connections shares the theme. A word hunt shares the grid and adds a clock.
Where Onword is different
Onword keeps the drag and the theme and changes the shape of the answer. You draw one continuous trail from the marked cell through neighboring letters, diagonals included, without reusing a cell. Each word on the trail connects in meaning to the next. Instead of several theme words scattered on the board, you get one chain, read in order.
That changes how you solve. In Strands you can find the words in any order. In Onword the next word has to start where the last one ended, so guessing the chain from the clue is half the puzzle.
One board a day, then stop. Practice boards are there when you want more without touching your streak. Onword is free in the browser and free as Onword Daily on iPhone and iPad. Android is not out yet.
Pick by what you liked
If you liked tracing letters more than the theme, a Boggle-style hunt or Squaredle will scratch that. If you liked the theme more than the tracing, Connections is the purest version. If you liked the moment when the theme and the trail click together, that is the Onword feeling, with one path instead of a scattered set.
The table below puts the rules side by side. If you want to know how an Onword board works before you open one, the word path puzzle rules and tips page walks the tutorial board step by step.
How these word games differ
Visible or hidden letters, one path or many words, and whether there is a theme to follow.
| Game | Letters | What you find | Theme | Finish | Where it plays |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onword | Visible on a grid | One continuous trail from the marked cell, neighbors including diagonals, no cell reused | Yes. Each word connects in meaning to the next | One daily board, then stop. Practice boards do not touch the streak | Free in the browser. Free as Onword Daily on iPhone and iPad |
| NYT Strands | Visible on a 6 by 8 grid | Several separate theme words plus one spangram that spans the board | Yes. One theme per day | One daily board | NYT Games on the web and in the app |
| Squaredle | Visible on a small grid | Find every hidden word by connecting adjacent letters, diagonals included | Bonus words, no single theme chain | One daily board | Browser |
| Boggle-style word hunt | Visible, usually a 4 by 4 grid | As many words as you can find, often against a timer | No | Score when the clock ends | Many browser and phone versions |
| Last-letter word chain | No grid. You supply the words | Each new word starts with the last letter of the one before | Sometimes a category | Ends when someone cannot continue | Spoken, written, or browser versions such as shiritori |
| Word ladder | A start word and a target word | Change one letter per step. Every step must be a real word | No | Reach the target in as few steps as you can | Browser versions and printed puzzles |
| Dualword | Hidden. Two five-letter answers | One guess scores against both answers on a split tile | No | Eight tries, one pair a day | Free in the browser |
| Affix | Visible. Two words with clues | Move exactly one letter between the two words so both match the clues | Clues, not a chain | Five rounds a day | Free in the browser |
The Onword, Dualword, and Affix rows describe our own games. The other rows restate each game's published rules as read on October 24, 2026. Rules change, so check the game before you quote this table.
Frequently asked questions
Is Onword a Strands clone?
No. Strands hides several separate theme words plus a spangram. Onword asks for one continuous trail where each word connects in meaning to the next. Both use a letter grid and a theme. The shape of the answer is different.
Does Onword have a spangram?
No. There is no single word that has to span the board. The whole trail is the answer, and it has to be walked in order.
Is Onword free?
Yes. The browser version is free, and Onword Daily is free on the App Store with no subscription. Optional sign-in syncs your streak.
What if I want a daily with hidden answers instead?
Dualword hides two five-letter words and scores one guess against both. Affix shows two words and asks you to move one letter. Both are free in the browser from Swizzle Works.
Built around Onword in the Word games & puzzles hub.