The best word games, according to hackers
17 word games were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 1 earns the Hacker Approved badge.
Top pick
The most recommended word game with the badge. Each figure is 5 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Becomes a daily routine
A free daily word puzzle with a polished, smooth interface that many play regularly, often with partners or friends, though some find it hard to get started.
All 17 word games, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tiled Words | 106 | 2 | 98% | 9 | — | Approved |
| 2 | 18 Words | 87 | 28 | 76% | 1 | — | — |
| 3 | Zanagrams | 51 | 5 | 91% | 2 | — | — |
| 4 | Wordle | 28 | 21 | 57% | 10 | — | — |
| 5 | One More Letter | 19 | 10 | 66% | 1 | — | — |
| 6 | Uncrossy | 18 | 6 | 75% | 2 | — | — |
| 7 | Wordtrak | 15 | 11 | 58% | 3 | — | — |
| 8 | Alphabet Soup | 12 | 2 | 86% | 1 | — | — |
| 9 | Binary search words game | 11 | 3 | 79% | 1 | — | — |
| 10 | Twixt word game | 10 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 11 | NYT Connections | 7 | 2 | 78% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 11 | Three Emojis | 7 | 3 | 70% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 11 | Wordit | 7 | 6 | 54% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 11 | Choo Choo Words | 7 | 2 | 78% | 1 | — | — |
| 15 | Don't Wordle | 6 | 2 | 75% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 16 | Crossle | 5 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 16 | Wordminos | 5 | 1 | 83% | 1 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same word game in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to word games that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.