How to play Shordle
Shordle is a daily word puzzle with one twist: the board starts in the dark. You reveal the five hidden letters with a flashlight, then guess the word in six tries before a 60-second battery runs out. Here is everything you need to start.
The goal
Every day there is one secret five-letter word, the same for everyone. Your job is to guess it in six tries or fewer. The catch is that the answer board is hidden in near-total darkness, so before you can even read your feedback you have to light it up. There is a new word each day and your result resets at midnight UTC.
Light up the board
On a desktop, your mouse cursor is the flashlight: move it across the screen and the letters near it glow into view. On a phone or tablet, drag your finger to move the light, or turn on gyroscope control in settings and tilt the device to aim the beam.
The light is limited, which is the point. A 60-second battery drains while you play, and it drains faster when the light is moving, so sweeping wildly across the board costs you more time than short, deliberate moves. Plan where you look.
Make a guess
Type a five-letter word and press Enter to submit it. On mobile, use the on-screen keyboard. Backspace deletes a letter. Only real five-letter words from the game's word list are accepted, so you cannot waste a turn on random letters.
You get six guesses. Each one narrows things down, so treat your early guesses as information-gathering rather than lucky stabs. Our word game strategy guide goes deeper on how to spend them well.
Read the colours
After each guess, every tile is coloured to tell you how close you were. The system is the same one Wordle players know:
- A Green means the letter is correct and in the right position.
- B Yellow means the letter is in the word but in a different position.
- C Gray means the letter is not in the word at all.
If you play with colorblind mode on, each tile also shows an icon (a check, a tilde, and a cross) so you never have to rely on colour alone.
Winning and losing
You win the moment all five tiles turn green. You lose if you use all six guesses without finding the word, or if the battery runs out first. Either way the answer is revealed, and you can share a spoiler-free grid of your result, just like Wordle's emoji squares but with a flashlight on each row.
Settings and accessibility
Shordle is built to be playable for as many people as possible. In settings you can turn on high-contrast mode, colorblind mode, and reduced-motion mode, and you can play entirely from the keyboard. Sound effects are optional. On mobile, gyroscope control is opt-in, so tilting is never forced on you.
The game runs in your browser with no account and no download. You can install it to your home screen as an app and it works offline. It is also free with no sign-up.
Where to go next
New to five-letter word games in general? Start with our explainer on the five-letter format. Curious how Shordle compares to the original? Read Shordle vs Wordle. Want to play right now? Open today's Shordle.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Shordle free to play?
- Yes. Shordle is completely free, runs in your browser, and does not require an account or any download. It is a privacy-friendly game with cookieless analytics and no personal data collection.
- How many guesses do you get in Shordle?
- You get six guesses to find the five-letter word, the same as Wordle. You also have to beat a 60-second battery timer, which Wordle does not have.
- What do the green, yellow, and gray tiles mean?
- Green means the letter is correct and in the right spot. Yellow means the letter is in the word but in a different spot. Gray means the letter is not in the word.
- Do I have to use the gyroscope on mobile?
- No. Gyroscope control is optional. By default you move the flashlight by dragging your finger across the screen, and you can enable tilt control in settings if you prefer it.
- Is there a new Shordle every day?
- Yes. There is one new word each day, the same for every player worldwide, and it resets at midnight UTC.
Ready to try it? Shordle is free, runs in your browser, and there is a new word every day.
Play today's Shordle