Letter Drop: Free Online Word Game
Drag through touching letters to spell English words, let the tiles drop and clear lines before the clock runs out. A daily run plus endless free play.
Quick facts
- Category
- 🧩 Puzzle
- Price
- Free, no download or sign-up
- Plays on
- Computer, phone and tablet
- Screen
- Portrait
- Provided by
- After School Play
- Added
About Letter Drop
Letter Drop is our own falling-letters word game. The board starts full: 8 columns by 10 rows of letter tiles. Drag through tiles that touch, sideways, up, down or diagonally, to spell a word of three letters or more. The tiles vanish and the ones above drop down. Nothing new falls in from the top, so the board empties from above, and each row left with no tile in it is a cleared line. The words are English.
Each level asks for a number of lines before the clock runs out: one line on level 1, two on level 2, and so on up to six. To clear the next line, take at least one tile out of every column that still reaches that row. Lamps over the board light up for the columns that are done, and the tiles still in the way have a coral outline, so you can always see what is left. Once the goal is met you can keep spelling for points or move on, and every second left is worth 5 points. If no everyday word is left on the board, the letters are mixed for you for free.
Each letter has a value, from 1 for common letters such as E, S and T up to 8 for Z and the Qu tile, which spells two letters. A word scores the sum of its letters times a length bonus, times 10: ×1.5 for four letters, ×2 for five, ×3 for six, and one more step for each letter after that. Each line adds 150, or 300 when one move clears two or more at once, and clearing every tile is worth 1,000.
The daily run is five levels, the same for everyone on each UTC day, and only your first go counts. Play it to the end each day to build a streak. Free play deals fresh boards, level after level, until the clock wins. Two helpers cost gems: a hint lights up one everyday word on the board, and a bomb clears a 3×3 block of tiles. No extra time is sold, because the clock is part of what the score measures. The clock stops while the game is paused, and a run in progress is saved so you can continue later.
Both the daily run and free play post your final score to the leaderboard when a run ends. You may spell any word from ENABLE, a public-domain list of English words, with offensive words left out. Letter Drop is free to play in your browser with no download or sign-up, and its art, sound effects and music are all made for the game.
Want more? Browse Puzzle games.
How to Play
- Start the daily run or a free-play run.
- Drag through touching letters, in any direction including diagonals, to spell an English word of 3 or more letters.
- Let go to play it. The tiles vanish and the ones above drop down.
- An empty top row is a cleared line. Take a tile out of every column to clear the next one.
- Clear the level's lines before the clock runs out, then move on to bank the time left.
- You can also tap letters one by one and tap the last one again to play the word.
Tips
- Watch the lamps over the board. A word that reaches into the unlit columns brings the next line closer.
- Long words pay far more than short ones: a five-letter word gets double, a seven-letter word four times.
- Words that run across the board take tiles out of more columns at once.
- Once the goal is met, keep spelling only while words come quickly. Every second left is worth 5 points when you move on.
- Plurals and other word forms count, so add S, ED or ING when the letters are there.
FAQ
- Is Letter Drop free?
- Yes. It is free to play in any modern browser, with no download and no sign-up.
- What is the daily run?
- Five levels, the same boards for everyone that day. They change at midnight UTC, and only your first run of the day counts: a finished daily run can't be played again. Playing it to the end each day builds your streak.
- How is the score worked out?
- Each word scores its letter values times a length bonus times 10. Each line adds 150 (300 each when one move clears two or more), every second left when you move on adds 5, and clearing every tile adds 1,000.
- Do hints cost gems?
- Yes. The hint and the bomb are both paid helpers that cost gems, and tiles cleared by a bomb score nothing. Extra time is never sold.
- What happens if no words are left?
- If no everyday word can be traced, the letters on the board are mixed for free, and the tiles stay in their cells so cleared lines stay cleared. If even that can't make a word, the level counts as done.
- What language are the words in?
- English. The words you spell are English only, while the menus and instructions are also in Japanese, Chinese and Spanish.
