LLexcavator

Word Mines

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 four 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

Thirteen layers down to the bottom of the mine, with no clock. Dig enough of each layer to open a shaft and climb down. Every layer below the first is a natural cave, no two alike, and the deeper you go, the stranger it gets. At the bottom, climb out, or keep digging.

Learn to Dig

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

Definition of the Day BETA

One word, one small board, and its definition as the clue. A quick dig that starts gentle on Monday and gets a little harder each day through Sunday.

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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