Jinxword: the free daily word game where four letters are cursed
Jinxword is a free daily word game you can play online in any browser — no download, no signup, no ads. Every day there is one hidden five-letter word, and you have six guesses to find it. The twist that makes Jinxword different from every other word puzzle: four letters of the alphabet are jinxed. They are never part of the answer, and the moment one of them appears in your guess, one of your three candles goes out. Lose all three candles and the round is over, no matter how many guesses you have left.
How to play Jinxword
- Guess the hidden five-letter word in six tries. Every guess must be a real English word.
- After each guess the tiles change color: green means the letter is correct and in the right spot, yellow means the letter is in the word but in a different position, and gray means the letter is not in the word at all.
- Four letters are secretly cursed. If your guess contains one, it is revealed with a skull — and one of your three candles is snuffed out.
- Cursed letters are never in the answer, so every candle you lose still buys you information: that letter can be eliminated for the rest of the round.
- Win by finding the word before you run out of guesses — and before the last candle goes out.
The full rules, with examples, live on the How to Play page.
Like Wordle, but cursed
If you already play Wordle, you know the opening move: throw a vowel-heavy probe word at the board and harvest free information. Jinxword takes that comfort away. Because four letters are booby-trapped, there is no such thing as a free guess — every probe is a small bet, and the "safe" starter word you have used a thousand times might cost you a candle. That single change turns a familiar deduction puzzle into a risk-management game: you are constantly weighing how much information a word could reveal against how many cursed letters it might touch. It is like Wordle, but cursed — and that is exactly why a three-guess win here feels better than any Wordle streak.
A new jinxed word every day
Jinxword follows the daily puzzle tradition: one word per day, the same for everyone, refreshing at midnight in your local timezone. Solve it and you can share your result as an emoji grid — greens, yellows, and the skulls that mark where the curse caught you — without spoiling the answer for your friends. Your win streak and statistics are saved in your browser. If one round a day is not enough, the dice button deals unlimited practice games that never touch your daily stats.
Free, instant, and private
Jinxword is completely free to play online. There is no account to create, no app to install, and nothing to accept: the game runs in a single fast-loading page that works on phones, tablets, and desktops alike. We do not run ads, we do not set tracking cookies, and your game history never leaves your device. You tap the link, and three seconds later you are playing.
Strategy tips for beating the curse
- Spread your risk early. A first guess with five different common letters can lose at most one candle per cursed letter it contains — but it also clears five letters at once when it survives.
- Treat revealed curses as gifts. A skull hurts, but it permanently removes that letter from the puzzle. Two candles and four eliminated letters is often a stronger position than three candles and darkness.
- Count your outs before you probe. When only a handful of candidate words remain, guessing one of them is usually safer than testing a brand-new probe word full of unverified letters.
- Rare letters are double-edged. Q, J, X and Z are statistically less likely to be the answer — which also makes them prime real estate for the curse.
Frequently asked questions
What is Jinxword?
Jinxword is a free browser-based daily word game. You guess a hidden five-letter word in six tries while avoiding four cursed letters that each cost you one of three candles.
How do I play Jinxword?
Type any valid five-letter word and press Enter. Green tiles are correct letters in the correct spot, yellow tiles are correct letters in the wrong spot, gray letters are not in the word — and skull tiles are cursed letters that just cost you a candle. Find the word within six guesses while at least one candle still burns.
When does the new word drop?
A new puzzle appears every day at midnight in your local timezone. Everyone playing on the same date gets the same word and the same four cursed letters.
Can I play more than once a day?
The daily puzzle can only be played once, but the 🎲 practice mode deals unlimited random games. Practice rounds are off the record — they never affect your streak or statistics.
Is Jinxword really free? Do I need an account?
Yes — completely free, forever, with no account, no email, and no ads. Your progress and statistics are stored locally in your browser.
What devices does Jinxword support?
Any device with a modern web browser: iPhone, Android, tablet, laptop, or desktop. There is nothing to download or install.
Is Jinxword like Wordle? What is the difference?
The guessing and color feedback work the same way, so Wordle players feel at home immediately. The difference is the curse: four letters are secretly jinxed, so probe words are no longer free and every guess carries risk. Cursed letters are never part of the answer.
What do the candles mean in Jinxword?
The three candles are your lives. Each time your guess contains a cursed letter for the first time, one candle is snuffed out. If all three go out, the round ends and the word is revealed.
Curious how this game came to be? Read the story on the About page — then come back and light your candles.