How to play Doorstep
Doorstep is a free daily word ladder. You start with a four-letter word and change one letter at a time until it becomes HOME.
The one rule
Each word you enter must differ from the word above it by exactly one letter, in the same position, and it has to be a real word. That's it. Here is COLD getting home in four steps:
- cold
- cord
- core
- come
- home
Type a word with your keyboard or the letters on screen, then press Enter. If the word isn't allowed, the row shakes and the game tells you why.
What the blue tiles mean
A tile turns blue when its letter is already where HOME needs it: H first, O second, M third, E fourth. Four blue tiles and you're home. Blue tiles are a guide, not a rule. Sometimes the fastest route means giving one up for a step or two.
Fewer steps is better
Most puzzles take five, six or seven steps at their shortest, and the game knows the shortest route. When you finish, it tells you whether you matched it. If you took longer, you can open the shortest route and see where you went wrong.
There is no undo. If you take a wrong turn you can go back to a word you've already played, but every word counts as a step.
One puzzle a day
A new start word goes up at midnight where you are, and everyone gets the same word for the same date, so you can compare with friends. Finish on consecutive days to build a streak.
Missed a day? Open Past puzzles to play it. Past puzzles don't change your streak.
Five tips for a shorter route
- Count first. The number of letters that differ from HOME is the fewest steps you could possibly need. If three letters differ and the puzzle takes five steps, you know two steps have to go sideways.
- Work backwards. Only a few everyday words sit one step from HOME: COME, DOME, SOME, HOLE, HONE, HOPE and HOSE. Aim for one of those.
- Get the vowels in early. An O in second place or an E at the end opens up far more words than a consonant does.
- Think in word families. Words that end the same way, like HOLD, COLD, GOLD and SOLD, let you swap the first letter freely.
- Don't chase blue. A step that turns a tile blue isn't always a step closer. The cat has watched many people learn this.
Which words count
Doorstep accepts about 3,850 four-letter English words from a standard word-game dictionary. Names, abbreviations and a short list of crude words are left out. Start words and the routes the game shows you use only everyday words.
Where word ladders come from
The puzzle is older than the crossword. Lewis Carroll, who wrote Alice in Wonderland, came up with it in the 1870s and called it Doublets. His readers turned HEAD into TAIL. Doorstep keeps his rule and fixes the destination: wherever you start, you're going home.
Common questions
Is it free? Yes.
Do I need an account? No. Your progress is saved in your own browser, which is why it doesn't follow you to another device.
Can I play more than one a day? One new puzzle a day, plus every earlier puzzle under Past puzzles.
What does knocking on the door do? Nothing useful. Try it anyway.