SteppedUpDle

SteppedUpDle strings together four words in the same game, each one longer: four letters, then five, then six, then seven. The clever idea lies in the guesses budget. Twenty guesses for the four levels combined, and they do not reset from one stage to the next, the rules state bluntly ("Guesses carry across all stages"). The board only opens one stage at a time, the three that follow wait below, folded, with their length shown in grey, and the remaining-guesses counter sits under the grid as in the header.

1. Solve the current stage before hoping for the next: the rules require finishing each word to unlock the subsequent stage.
2. Type on the built-in keyboard and submit with Enter; the keyboard recolors at the same time as the grid.
3. Read the verdict line by line, knowing the rules describe three states: correct letter in the right place, correct letter in the wrong place, and letter absent.
4. Watch the counter, which applies to all four stages: it goes from 20 to 19 as soon as a first word is accepted.
5. Come back the next day: the help panel announces "a new puzzle every day at midnight," and the local save is filed under the current date.

The increase in length completely changes the trade-off: on four letters, a deduction costs many guesses for little information, whereas the seven-letter word, which arrives when the reserve is already drawn down, yields a great deal. Because the twenty guesses are indivisible, each stage is played with the next in mind, and what you save early becomes your margin for maneuver at the end.

The submitted line is marked as a block, cell by cell, and the keyboard follows suit. The green on screen is a fir green, the grey a stone grey, and the rules add a third state for a correct letter that is misplaced. But the true thermometer is elsewhere: beneath the board, the line "20 guesses remaining" drops to 19 as soon as a first word is accepted, and this single reserve covers the four words of the game. A word the dictionary refuses, however, stays on its line without being recorded, and the counter does not move.

Daily game

One game per day, in four stages of 4, 5, 6 and 7 letters; the help panel promises "a new puzzle every day at midnight" and the save is indexed by date.

• A word the dictionary rejects costs nothing: the unaccepted proposal stays on its line, unrecorded, counter unchanged. A doubtful attempt is only charged if it is accepted.
• The twenty guesses are a shared budget. Burning them on the four-letter word leaves you dry in front of the seven-letter one, which is both the longest and the last.
• Closed stages still display their length, 5, 6 then 7 letters: nothing prevents planning ahead while you're stuck on the current stage.
• The shortest word is also the stingiest in information: four squares give little feedback per guess, and yet it is there that the pace of the whole game is set.