Cadgy

Cadgy lays out five columns of tiles and asks you to form words by picking exactly one tile from each column. The explanatory panel announced, for the daily grid, ten basic words and ten bonus words. The bonus words have their definitions shown under the grid, often obscure; the basic words have nothing at all: it’s up to you to unearth them. A small design twist: some tiles carry two letters at once. With several RI tiles in one grid, for instance, a five-tile word can exceed five letters. Cadgy, the game notes, is a word from Scotland and northern England meaning cheerful and full of spirit.

1. Scan the columns from left to right and select one tile in each, by click or keyboard.
2. Watch the word as it forms beneath the grid: each column still unused leaves a blank there.
3. Validated words are recorded in the Basic words or Bonus words column, each tracking its count out of ten.
4. Pick from the definitions listed under the grid for bonus words, and hunt without any hint for the ten basic words.

The pleasure of Cadgy lies in its twofold reading. The ten bonus words are worked like crossword clues, often twisted, with etymologies slipped into the hint. The ten basic words, meanwhile, are tracked with the naked eye in the columns, without the slightest help. The same board supports two ways of searching, and tiles turning to gold tell you exactly where it's no longer worth insisting.

Chosen tiles turn purple and are connected by a line that traces the path through the grid, while the word is written letter by letter beneath. A tile turns gold when all the words that use it have been found, making it the only indicator of board coverage. The scoring is simple: ten points per word, two hundred points possible, and the timer runs without ever ending the game. The game reserves two definitions of victory: two hundred points in under three minutes, or two hundred points without entering a single invalid word.

Daily grid

A grid hand‑edited each day, with ten basic words and ten bonus words.

Archive

The list of previous days is displayed on the page, with access to the player's statistics.

Printable version

A “🖨️ Printable version” button sits under the grid.

• Gold is your map: a golden tile has nothing left to give. When a column is almost entirely gold, the remaining words must go through the pale tiles.
• Two‑letter tiles break the intuition of a five‑letter word. Count in tiles, not letters, before dismissing a combination.
• The definitions under the grid cover only the bonus half. The ten basic words aren't indicated anywhere, better hunt for them while the timer is still young if you're aiming to win in under three minutes.