# 18 Words 87 Hacker News commenters recommended 18 Words and 28 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 13 months. **Verdict:** A fast, addictive daily word-building game where the timer creates urgency. Critics say the timer adds stress and losing early ends the run. ## Why people recommend it - Addictive and fun to play (6 comments): "This is so much more fun than those dumb word games on linkedin" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48848842)) "Addictive and challenging even for a native English speaker." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48858037)) "Fun, that's it. New addiction after daily wordle unlocked" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48845568)) - Timer adds pressure and urgency (6 comments): "Love the pressure due to the timer, and the best aid to help is say it aloud." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48847209)) "Very cool game - the timer put the pressure on quick!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48889673)) "It gave me a sense of urgency and exhilaration!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48855445)) - Challenging, rewarding to reach 18 (4 comments): "The length/difficulty gets harder as you go on, so getting to 18 is a true challenge." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48860065)) "the continuing through for the whole 18 words was a really good experience" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48858865)) "I find it more enjoyable now that you can continue to the end." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48856739)) - Simple, polished, compact design (4 comments): "I got to 9 words, had fun, will try again tomorrow. Simplicity and urgency win" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48855021)) "The game was fun and seemed nice and polished." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48853604)) "It's such a compact and fun little game." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48856662)) ## What people warn about - Timer adds stress and pressure (5 comments): "it did induce a short moment of panic, which I'm not sure I'd categorise as fun" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48845338)) "The timer just makes it a bit "meh", and I won't be returning as a result." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48847257)) "the timer just adds unnecessary pressure and gets me really annoyed" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48845642)) - Only one puzzle per day (4 comments): "The only thing I really don't like, is that each puzzle can only be played once." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48847941)) "The combination of one game per day, and a timer is not a great combo." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48853658)) "the timer and having only one game per day makes this not enjoyable" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48856723)) - Losing early ends the whole game (3 comments): "I'd prefer a mode where you fail the word, but can continue to the next word." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48848687)) "It should be point based and go to the next word instead of killing the game." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48850486)) "this one was not very restrictive and the punishment for failing it was minor" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48865245)) - Tedious input and rigid word checking (3 comments): "Losing because of your mouse skills in a pattern recognition game is annoying." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48847920)) "The third one in the archive wouldn't accept "tase" or "sate" for "seat"." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48845411)) "It's tedious to have to hit DEL 6 or 7 times towards the end of the game." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48858449)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Tiled Words](https://hackerapproved.com/p/tiled-words.md): 106 recommend - [Zanagrams](https://hackerapproved.com/p/zanagrams.md): 51 recommend - [Wordle](https://hackerapproved.com/p/wordle.md): 28 recommend - [One More Letter](https://hackerapproved.com/p/one-more-letter.md): 19 recommend - [Uncrossy](https://hackerapproved.com/p/uncrossy.md): 18 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "18 Words", https://hackerapproved.com/p/18-words/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).