8 words in a chain, from INK to BALL. Fill the 5 between so every pair of neighbours makes a compound word or a phrase everyone knows. Any chain that holds counts.
About Hinge
Hinge is a free daily word chain from Mind Loft. Each day gives you the first and last word of a chain and the letter count of every word between, and every pair of neighbours has to make a compound word or a phrase everyone knows: FIRE then PLACE is a fireplace, PLACE then MAT is a placemat, and so on down to the last word. It is the before-and-after game, played as a ladder.
The words are not fixed, only the letter counts are. Any chain the game’s vocabulary accepts counts, and when you finish you see your chain beside the setter’s. A real word that does not hinge is a detour: it stays on the board, struck through, and detours break ties on the daily leaderboard, where the clock is the score. Tapping a word you placed clears it and everything below it for free, so a dead end is never a trap, and the board tells you the moment no chain can reach the end from where you are.
A new chain drops every day at midnight Eastern. Weekdays are six words with four to fill; the Sunday Edition is eight words with six to fill and one of them printed. No app, no signup, play free in your browser, keep a streak, and race the leaderboard. Like the shape? Rung is the ladder that changes one letter at a time, and Links sorts sixteen words into four groups.
Hinge, in short
How do you play Hinge?
Six words in a chain, and you get the first and the last. Fill the four between so every pair of neighbors makes a compound word or a phrase everyone knows: fireplace, placemat, board game. Any chain that holds counts; a real word that does not hinge is a detour, and detours break ties on the clock.
Is Hinge free to play?
Yes. Hinge is free to play in your browser on Mind Loft, with no app to install and no account required.
When does a new Hinge puzzle come out?
A new Hinge arrives every day at midnight Eastern time, and Sundays bring the Sunday Edition, the biggest or hardest board of the week.
What kind of puzzle is Hinge?
Hinge is a daily word game from Mind Loft: chain the compounds. Puzzle type: compound-word chain. It is part of the daily word games lineup.
Can I play past Hinge puzzles?
Yes. Every past Hinge board is in the puzzle archive, a tap away by day.
What other daily word games does Mind Loft have?
Rung, Babel, Glyph and Anon, among others. The Word games page lists every one, with a new board for each every day.