Wend Game
Follow the letters. Find the hidden words. Use every tile exactly once.
Free online · No sign-up · Original word paths
Board #1: Animal friends
0/20 boards completed · Original 5×5 practice puzzles
Drag through neighboring letters, or tap each letter and choose Check word. Move up, down, left or right — no diagonals.
Find five words. Every letter belongs to one word.
Come back for the next daily pick. It rotates through this site's 20 original boards at local midnight; it is separate from LinkedIn's daily puzzle.
Each board and your completed count are saved on this device. Switch boards and return anytime.
Keyboard: arrow keys move focus, Space selects a letter, Enter checks your word, Escape clears the selection. Hint reveals a word and can align earlier paths to keep the remaining letters usable.
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All games →How to play Wend
- Look at the word lengths and the theme. Each blank word is hidden somewhere in the letter grid.
- Connect neighboring letters to spell a word. Move up, down, left or right; diagonal moves are not allowed.
- Drag across a path, or select letters one at a time and submit. Words can turn corners, but cannot reuse a tile.
- Find all the target words and cover every letter. Solved words must not overlap.
Word search with a path-finding twist
A traditional word search often hides straight lines among spare letters. This Wend-style game uses all 25 letters on a 5×5 board. Finding a familiar word is one part of the challenge; leaving usable space for the remaining words is the other.
Explore 20 original themed boards with five hidden words per puzzle. Practice has no daily play limit, but it is a fixed collection, not an endless generator. Progress saves in this browser when local storage is available.
Wend hints and solving tips
- Use the word lengths to rule out paths that are too short or too long. Read a candidate word before submitting it.
- Check corners and narrow spaces first. A path that cuts off an unused tile may need to be changed.
- Undo a recent word when you want to try a different route. Reset starts the current board again.
- Use Hint when stuck. It can adjust conflicting paths so the board remains solvable; the game will explain what changed.
An independent alternative to LinkedIn Wend
These original boards use the familiar idea of joining letters into non-overlapping word paths. They are separate from the daily puzzles on LinkedIn Wend. No LinkedIn account or app download is needed to play here. Patches Game is not affiliated with LinkedIn or Microsoft.
Wend questions
Can words go diagonally?
No. Each step must reach a tile directly above, below, left or right of the previous tile.
Why was a real word not accepted?
Each board has a specific set of hidden target words. A real word that is not one of those targets does not complete a slot. Check the word lengths and theme, or use a hint.
Can I play Wend on a phone?
Yes. Drag through the letters, or tap adjacent tiles and submit the path. On a keyboard, focus the board and use its on-screen keyboard instructions.
Can I keep playing after finishing a board?
Yes. Choose the next practice board or replay a favorite. All 20 boards are free, and you can also try Pinpoint or Patches from the games collection.
Will my game be saved?
Your progress is saved locally when your browser allows it. It stays on this device and may be removed if you clear browser data.