Hints, extra words and golden tiles
The little systems around the grid: help when you're stuck, rewards for finding more than you were asked to, and a few surprises.
The hint ladder
Tap the hints button on the puzzle screen to see four hints, from a gentle nudge to the whole answer. Each one helps with the next word on the list you haven't found yet, and each costs coins you earn by playing.
| Hint | Coins | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Direction | 10 | Flashes where the word starts and ends, so you know its line |
| First letter | 20 | Flashes the word's first letter |
| Reveal letter | 30 | Shows the word's first two letters |
| Reveal word | 80 | Finds the word for you |
A few modes adjust the hints so they stay useful. In a Zigzag puzzle, Direction flashes the first two cells of the path. In a Mirror puzzle it starts from the end, where the backwards word begins. In Gaps, First letter shows the missing letter. In a boss puzzle, First letter also writes the letter onto the word's blanks.
When you don't have enough coins, Spellhunt may offer a short ad to earn some instead, or simply say "keep looking, you've got this." Watching is always your choice. Spellhunt Plus members skip the ad and get that reward straight away.
What a hint costs you besides coins
A puzzle solved without hints pays 10 extra coins and 100 extra points. In the Daily, hints are also the first tiebreaker between equal times, and the share card marks which words you needed help with. None of that is a penalty, just a reason to try the free options first.
The free options
- Rotate the grid. The rotate button turns the grid a quarter turn. It costs nothing, and a fresh angle often shows you a word you've looked past.
- Wait for the otter. In campaign puzzles, if 90 seconds pass without a find, the otter points at a letter of a word you haven't found. It isn't a hint and it's never in the Daily.
- Change your method. The word search tips have ways to break out of a stuck scan.
Extra words
Any real word of four letters or more that you swipe and that isn't on the list counts as an extra word. You'll see a small "+extra" chip and the word joins a list under the puzzle's words. Tap it to read its definition.
- Each extra word earns 5 coins, for up to 3 extra words per puzzle, and 2 XP.
- Extra words never change your Daily time or rank. In the Daily's bonus round they also add 50 points each to your score.
- Rude words don't count. The word list is filtered.
Extra words turn the moments you spend scanning into small discoveries. Plenty of players go looking for them on purpose once the list is done.
The Daily's bonus word
Every Daily hides one bonus word that isn't on the list. It names the theme, or something that sums the theme up. We won't spoil any here. Once the clock stops, you get up to 60 untimed seconds to find it. It's worth 500 points and it never affects your rank.
Find ten and you earn the Bonus Hunter badge. Find a hundred and you're a Bonus Legend. If you miss it, the result says so kindly: "There was a bonus word hiding. Tomorrow's is fresh."
Golden tiles
About one campaign puzzle in twenty has a golden tile, a letter with a soft shimmer. Find a word that runs through it and that word counts double. You'll see a "Golden tiles" line on your score. Golden tiles never appear in the Daily, so every Daily player has the same chances.
Flow chains
Find words in quick succession, within about six seconds of each other, and you start a flow chain. The feedback builds as you go: a brighter pop, a quicker rise in the tones, and a small "x2 flow" or "x3 flow" chip. That's all it is. A flow chain is there to feel good. It never changes your score, coins, XP or rank.
Updated September 30, 2026.