How to play SPARES
A chain that gets one letter shorter at every step — and a tray of leftovers that turns into a word.
Last updated October 6, 2026
Objective
Follow the chain from the starting word down to a three-letter word, answering one clue per step. The letters you remove along the way are your spares, and together they spell the bonus word.
Rules
- Look at the current word and read the clue for the next one.
- Remove exactly one letter.
- Rearrange the letters that remain into the word the clue describes, and submit it.
- The removed letter drops into your tray. Repeat from the new word.
Example
Chain lengths
| Level | Start word | Steps | Bonus word |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 6 letters | 3 | 3 letters |
| Medium | 7 letters | 4 | 4 letters |
| Hard | 8 letters | 5 | 5 letters |
The bonus word
The bonus clue is visible from the start. Once you hold at least one spare you may call the bonus word early. Getting it right tells you every letter still to be dropped, which makes the remaining steps easier — and earns a star on your shared result. A wrong call costs nothing.
Hints and reveals
Each step has two free hints. The first tells you which letter to drop; the second gives the first letter of the answer. After three misses on a step you can reveal that word and carry on — the chain never locks.
Progress and sharing
A step solved with no misses and no hints is “clean”. Your shared result shows one square per step — clean, helped or revealed — and never shows a word. Completing the daily chain on consecutive days builds your streak.
Common mistakes
- Removing a letter and keeping the order. Sometimes that works, but most steps need a real rearrangement.
- Forgetting double letters. If a word has two Es, dropping one still leaves the other.
- Ignoring the tray. The spares you already hold, plus the bonus clue, often tell you which letter goes next.