Levenshtein

Levenshtein takes the edit distance, that computer-science tool that counts how many operations separate two strings, and turns it into a guessing game. You type a word, the game replies with a single number: the number of insertions, deletions and substitutions of letters required to transform your word into the secret word. You must descend to zero. The proposed word has no required length, which changes everything compared with classic grid-based games.

1. On the home screen, choose between Daily Challenge (one secret word per day, the same for everyone, with result sharing) and Free Play (unlimited games, a new word each round).
2. Type any word into the field 'type any word…' and submit with the Guess button. There is no length constraint.
3. Read the number displayed to the right of the row: it is the number of edits that still separate your word from the solution.
4. Re-read the colors in the row, which indicate what to correct letter by letter, then propose another word until you reach zero. The New game button restarts a game.

Because the feedback fits into a single number and is surprisingly rich. Where most word games make you reason position by position, Levenshtein makes you reason about the whole word: two very different guesses can return similar distances, and it is by combining their colors that you untangle the solution. Since length is free, the first guess becomes a tactical decision in its own right.

Each attempt is shown in small tiles, one per letter, with a distance number on the right. Green marks a letter already correctly placed, gray marks a letter to be replaced, red marks a letter to be deleted, and a blue '+' sign appears where a letter needs to be inserted. The legend under the board repeats these four codes in full words. The counter at the top of the list indicates how many guesses have been played.

Daily Challenge

One secret word per day, identical for all players, to be solved in a few guesses and shared.

Free Play

Unlimited games at your own pace, with a new word drawn each round.

• Insertions and deletions count toward the score: a deliberately short word therefore returns a number that includes the missing letters, which lets you gauge the solution's length even before finding the right letters.
• The blue '+' markers are the most directly usable piece of information on a row: they do not just indicate that a letter is missing, they indicate the exact place where it is missing.
• A green letter is secured in position: building the next guess around it rather than starting from an unrelated word saves several turns.