What is doublet?
doublet is morning coffee games' daily word-ladder puzzle. You are given a starting word and a target, then build a chain of real words that connects them. There can be many valid solutions; finding a shorter ladder is the optimization challenge.
Unlike a ladder restricted to same-length substitutions, this version lets you change the word's length or rearrange its letters. That gives you more ways to escape a dead end.
Four kinds of legal move
A step can replace one letter, insert one letter, remove one letter, or rearrange all the existing letters into a different word. Every intermediate word must have at least three letters, and you cannot repeat a word already in the ladder.
Changing and rearranging are separate operations. If a proposed word changes both the letters and their order, check whether it actually meets one permitted move rather than assuming it counts.
How to play
- Read the start and target words and consider simple neighbors of each.
- Type a valid intermediate word and press Enter. The game attaches it to the end it legally connects to.
- Continue from either open end, looking for a word that joins the two sides.
- Use the remove control beside a step when you want to backtrack and try another route.
- Complete the connection, then review how many intermediate steps you used.
An illustrative ladder
COLD → CORD → CARD → WARD → WARM
Each arrow in this example changes exactly one letter. doublet also permits routes that get shorter, longer, or use anagrams; the example demonstrates a valid transformation pattern rather than today's answer or an optimal route.
Working backward can reveal a connection you missed from the start. Shorter words often have more possible neighbors, but removing a letter is useful only when it leads somewhere. Compare both open ends before extending the same side again.