18 Words
Ranked 2 of 17 word games by recommenders
A fast, addictive daily word-building game where the timer creates urgency. Critics say the timer adds stress and losing early ends the run.
A fast, addictive daily word-building game where the timer creates urgency. Critics say the timer adds stress and losing early ends the run.
115 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 87
- criticize it
- 28
- approval share
- 76%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 87 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.1 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Addictive and fun to play
“This is so much more fun than those dumb word games on linkedin”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” “Addictive and challenging even for a native English speaker.”
Comment from 10 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” “Fun, that's it. New addiction after daily wordle unlocked”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” - Comment from 10 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words”
- Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words”
- Comment from 14 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words”
Timer adds pressure and urgency
“Love the pressure due to the timer, and the best aid to help is say it aloud.”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” “Very cool game - the timer put the pressure on quick!”
Comment from 13 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” “It gave me a sense of urgency and exhilaration!”
Comment from 10 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” - Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words”
- Comment from 10 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words”
- Comment from 13 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words”
Challenging, rewarding to reach 18
“The length/difficulty gets harder as you go on, so getting to 18 is a true challenge.”
Comment from 10 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” “the continuing through for the whole 18 words was a really good experience”
Comment from 10 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” “I find it more enjoyable now that you can continue to the end.”
Comment from 10 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” - Comment from 10 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words”
Simple, polished, compact design
“I got to 9 words, had fun, will try again tomorrow. Simplicity and urgency win”
Comment from 10 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” “The game was fun and seemed nice and polished.”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” “It's such a compact and fun little game.”
Comment from 10 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” - Comment from 11 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Timer adds stress and pressure
“it did induce a short moment of panic, which I'm not sure I'd categorise as fun”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” “The timer just makes it a bit "meh", and I won't be returning as a result.”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” “the timer just adds unnecessary pressure and gets me really annoyed”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” - Comment from 10 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words”
- Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words”
Only one puzzle per day
“The only thing I really don't like, is that each puzzle can only be played once.”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” “The combination of one game per day, and a timer is not a great combo.”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” “the timer and having only one game per day makes this not enjoyable”
Comment from 10 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” - Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words”
Losing early ends the whole game
“I'd prefer a mode where you fail the word, but can continue to the next word.”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” “It should be point based and go to the next word instead of killing the game.”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” “this one was not very restrictive and the punishment for failing it was minor”
Comment from 10 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” Tedious input and rigid word checking
“Losing because of your mouse skills in a pattern recognition game is annoying.”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” “The third one in the archive wouldn't accept "tase" or "sate" for "seat".”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words” “It's tedious to have to hit DEL 6 or 7 times towards the end of the game.”
Comment from 10 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: 18 Words”
Other word games people recommend
The four most recommended other word games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiled Words | 106 | 2 | 98% | 9 | — | Approved |
| 18 WordsThis page | 87 | 28 | 76% | 1 | — | — |
| Zanagrams | 51 | 5 | 91% | 2 | — | — |
| Wordle | 28 | 21 | 57% | 10 | — | — |
| One More Letter | 19 | 10 | 66% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 118 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“you've made a seriously addictive game!”
“love the game, the timer adds the stress”
“Very cool game - the timer put the pressure on quick!”
“Robust UI/UX and well balanced gameplay”
“this one was not very restrictive and the punishment for failing it was minor”
“The length/difficulty gets harder as you go on, so getting to 18 is a true challenge.”
“It can get bit tedious as one progresses, you need to push yourself to continue.”
“Love the timer, that's the killer feature.”
“the continuing through for the whole 18 words was a really good experience”
“It's tedious to have to hit DEL 6 or 7 times towards the end of the game.”
“they all immediately found it incredibly addictive”
“Addictive and challenging even for a native English speaker.”
“I find it more enjoyable now that you can continue to the end.”
“the timer and having only one game per day makes this not enjoyable”
“It's such a compact and fun little game.”
“It gave me a sense of urgency and exhilaration!”
“I got to 9 words, had fun, will try again tomorrow. Simplicity and urgency win”
“The combination of one game per day, and a timer is not a great combo.”
“The game was fun and seemed nice and polished.”
“The timer adds more pressure and excitement.”
“Loved it. I would change the timer from text (which I'm constantly reading as it changes)”
“If this didn’t have the timer (or maybe if it were counting up in the corner) it could be a great addition”
“It should be point based and go to the next word instead of killing the game.”
“Cool. I wish I could choose British English as an option though”
“This is so much more fun than those dumb word games on linkedin”
“I'd prefer a mode where you fail the word, but can continue to the next word.”
“It's conceptually clear as it is, and adding a forgiving mode would just make it wishy washy.”
“Counterintuitively it makes the game less stressful — the counter goes back to 30 no matter what.”
“The only thing I really don't like, is that each puzzle can only be played once.”
“Losing because of your mouse skills in a pattern recognition game is annoying.”
“The timer just makes it a bit "meh", and I won't be returning as a result.”
“Love the pressure due to the timer, and the best aid to help is say it aloud.”
“30 seconds is plenty of time and one run a day is a nice change of pace from never ending feeds.”
“I can't work under pressure like that when it comes to word games.”
“the timer just adds unnecessary pressure and gets me really annoyed”
“Fun, that's it. New addiction after daily wordle unlocked”
“Fun game though I wish it left more time for the longer words”
“it said come back in 9hours. LOL. Ain't nobody got time for that.”
“The third one in the archive wouldn't accept "tase" or "sate" for "seat".”
“it did induce a short moment of panic, which I'm not sure I'd categorise as fun”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.