How to play Vowels
Vowels is a daily word game built around one idea: the consonants are given, the vowels are free. Each puzzle shows four consonants — one orange letter in the middle and three around it — and a row of vowels A, E, I, O, U and Y. Make as many words as you can. Every word must contain the orange consonant, be at least four letters long and use no consonants other than the four on the board. Vowels can go anywhere, as often as you like, and any letter may repeat.
Scoring
- A four-letter word is worth 1 point.
- Longer words score 1 point per letter: VOLUME is 6 points.
- A pangram uses all four consonants and earns 7 bonus points. Every puzzle has at least one.
Points move you up the ranks, from Beginner through Good, Solid, Great and Amazing to Genius at 85% of the possible score, and Vowel Master when you find every word.
A new puzzle appears at midnight in your time zone. Missed a day? Every earlier puzzle waits in the archive, and Unlimited deals a fresh set of consonants whenever you want one. For a different challenge, try the daily Skeleton: consonants in a fixed order, you fill in the vowels. Stuck? Open Hints in the game, read our tips, or check the answers once the day is over.
Frequently asked questions
When does a new Vowels puzzle come out?
At midnight in your own time zone. Everyone gets the same puzzle for the same calendar date.
Why wasn't my word accepted?
It has to be at least four letters, contain the orange consonant and use no consonants except the four shown. Proper names, hyphenated words, abbreviations and offensive words are left out, and very rare words may be missing from the list.
Is Y a vowel here?
Yes. In Vowels, Y counts as a free vowel, so words like STORY or MYTH can appear whenever their other letters fit.
Where can I find today's answers?
The answers page shows hints for today (word counts, first letters, two-letter starts) and every word of each puzzle once the day has ended everywhere in the world.
Is it free?
Yes. Every mode is free, with no sign-up. Your progress is saved in your browser.
Vowels Unlimited
Unlimited is Vowels without the daily limit. Each set of four consonants is a complete puzzle with its own pangrams, and you can move on to the next one whenever you like. The rules are the same as in the daily game: use the orange consonant, four letters or more, vowels are free, and a pangram earns 7 extra points.
It is the best way to practise. Play a few puzzles in a row and you start to see the patterns: which vowel pairs open long words, how a doubled consonant hides a word, and how pangrams are built. Our tips page lists the ones that help most.
Your progress in every Unlimited puzzle is saved in this browser, and the link of a puzzle opens exactly that set, so you can send it to a friend and compare scores.
Frequently asked questions
How many Unlimited puzzles are there?
More than a thousand, each checked to have at least one common pangram and between 20 and 90 words.
Can I go back to an Unlimited puzzle?
Yes. Open its link again (the address changes for every puzzle) and your found words are still there.
Vowels archive
The archive holds every daily Vowels puzzle since the first one. Pick a day in the calendar to play it: finished puzzles are marked, started ones show how far you got, and you can pick up any of them where you left off.
Archive puzzles score the same way as the daily game. If you would rather see the words, each day also has its own answers page with every word, the pangrams and the total score.
Frequently asked questions
How far back does the archive go?
To the first daily puzzle. Every day since then can be played.
Is my archive progress saved?
Yes, in this browser. Clearing the site data or switching device starts the archive afresh.
Skeleton: fill in the missing vowels
Skeleton turns the idea around. You get a few consonants in a fixed order, for example S·T·R. Add vowels before, between and after them to make real words. The test is simple: take the vowels out of your word, and exactly those consonants must remain, in that order. S·T·R gives STAR, STIR, STORY, ASTER and OYSTER, but not RUST (wrong order) or STARS (an extra S).
Four-letter words score 1 point and longer words 1 point per letter. There is one Skeleton a day, the same for everyone. It is shorter than the daily game and makes a good warm-up.
Frequently asked questions
Can a consonant appear twice?
No. Every consonant of the skeleton appears exactly once and no other consonants are allowed, so SITTER does not fit S·T·R.
Is Y a vowel in Skeleton?
Yes, the same as in the main game. STORY fits S·T·R.