Thaw

What is Thaw?

Thaw is a daily word-search puzzle where words and a hidden Secret sit under a layer of ice. By melting tiles, you reveal letter clusters and try to claim words while also cracking the daily Secret word. Clearing a daily board adds that Secret to your collection as a relic.

Editor takes

The melt/claim cost split is a smart tension, but a wrong claim punishing you with a 2-point blind penalty feels needlessly harsh on a timed daily.

I love that the red tiles spell out a secret word in reading order — it turns the board into a cryptic acrostic you get to name before it melts away.

This is like a season finale you can play every day — the relic collection and gilded names are the perfect post-credits scene for word nerds.

How to play Thaw

Start with the daily board and tap tiles to melt them; most melts cost 1 point, and red tiles melt for free. Amber letters are part of words you can claim by dragging or switching to claim mode, while red letters spell the Secret in reading order. You can also spend points on hints and use a limited number of guesses to name the Secret before finishing.

Tips & strategy

• Look at the numbers on plain tiles: a 0 means the empty area around it melts for free, which can open up the board cheaply.
• Track the red tiles carefully—they cost nothing to melt and reveal the daily Secret in order from top row to bottom row.
• Avoid claiming words until you are reasonably sure, since a wrong claim costs 2 and shows nothing.
• If you are stuck, a hint melts one word tile for 3 points, which can help reveal a needed word.
• Use daily boards to build your relic collection; practice boards are for trying out the mechanics and do not count toward progress.

Frequently asked questions

Where to play

Play Thawthawpuzzle.netlify.app · free, new puzzle daily

Play here