LLexcavator

Spell your way out of the rock.

A word puzzle about digging. Spell words outward from the voids, and every word you dig opens the tiles around it. Clear the whole board in as few words as you can. Every board can be cleared: there's always a route.

Play in your browser Free · no account · phone or desktop

One rule, a lot of thinking

Most word games ask whether you can find a word. Lexcavator asks which word to dig first.

Dig from the voids

A tile can be picked when it touches a void, the dark empty space. Tiles you can pick glow; tiles still buried sit in shadow.

Letters don't need to touch

Every pick opens the tiles around it, so a word can jump across the board. Each letter only has to be reachable when you pick it.

Plan your route

A tempting short word can strand a letter for good. Each puzzle has a move limit and a points target, both set by the miner's route, and Undo is always free. Clear the board and you'll see the miner's route, so you know where you went your own way.

Ways to play

New players start with five quick lessons that teach the whole game in about two minutes.

Classic Puzzles

Sixty hand-built, themed boards in four depths, from Topsoil to Bedrock. Each title is a clue: every word in the best route fits it, and many boards take the shape of their theme, from an anchor and a bell to a padlock and a Greek temple. Watch for a red herring or two. New puzzles arrive with a glowing marker.

Daily Dig

A fresh board every day, the same for everyone, small on Mondays and deep by Saturday. More than thirty board shapes, from moats and mazes to castles and hearts, each turned a new way, and there's always a clear first word to get you started. Three stars: clear the board, stay within the move limit, and reach the points target. Missed a day? Every Daily since January is waiting in Past digs.

Endless Descent

Zen mode: no limits, no clock. Dig enough of each layer to open a shaft, climb down, and see how deep you can go. Long words earn a ⚡ Shift, which plants fresh words in what's left.

Learn to Dig

Five short coached lessons (the void, opening the board, coins and bonuses, planning a route, the blast) and then a full dig played out for you.

Help shape it

Lexcavator is in early playtesting. If you play a few puzzles, these are the things most worth hearing about:

  • Where the rule first confused you, and when it clicked.
  • A puzzle that felt unfair, or one that felt great.
  • A word the game wouldn't accept, or one it shouldn't have.
  • Anything that broke or looked wrong on your phone.

Your progress saves in your browser, so you can come back to the Daily Dig every day.

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