What is Crossclimb?
Crossclimb is a word ladder game popularized by LinkedIn, which launched it in 2024 in its suite of daily games. The idea fits in one picture: a ladder of seven five-letter words, where each rung differs from the next by a single letter only. You start by solving five clues to find the middle words, you put them back in the right order so the ladder holds, then a final clue asks you to guess the two words at the ends.
Our version is free and limitless. Where the official LinkedIn game offers a single puzzle a day, we offer ladders on demand, any time, with no account and no ad wall before you play. That is our main advantage: unlimited games against LinkedIn's one puzzle a day. Add to that a daily challenge shared by every player, a tougher weekly challenge, and a bank of 120 hand-built puzzles per language, to keep the fun fresh for a long time.
How a round unfolds
Every puzzle follows exactly the same mechanic, in four steps.
1. Solve the five clues
Five clues appear, each with its own input, in a deliberately mixed order. Each clue describes one precise five-letter word. You type the exact word: the check is strict, a word off by one letter is still a different word and is refused until you find the right answer.
2. Build the ladder
Once the five words are found, you reorder them with the up and down buttons. The goal: every pair of neighbouring words must differ by a single letter, from top to bottom. As long as two neighbours differ by more than one letter, the ladder is not yet valid and you keep moving the rungs.
3. Guess the two ends
When the middle ladder is correct, a final clue appears. It describes the two end words, top and bottom, each one letter away from its neighbouring rung. You find them to close the ladder and complete the puzzle.
4. The scoring
Each puzzle starts at 1000 points. Every mistake, a wrong word or a wrongly guessed end, costs 100 points, down to a floor of 200. Reordering the ladder's words is always free, however many moves it takes. Solving a ladder with no mistake at all therefore keeps the maximum score of 1000 points: the reward for careful reading rather than rushing.
Three ways to play
Progression
Ladders on demand, with difficulty rising round after round. Unlimited, with no counter and no daily cap.
Daily challenge
One unique ladder generated each day at midnight Paris time, shared by every player, with a leaderboard and a streak. The archive keeps every past day, replayable.
Weekly challenge
One especially tough ladder, published every Monday for the whole week, with its leaderboard. The rendezvous for players who want more difficulty.
Why play here rather than on LinkedIn
LinkedIn's Crossclimb introduced this word ladder puzzle, but it stops at a single puzzle per day, inside an app built for the professional network. Our game extends the fun: as soon as you finish the daily challenge, you move on to a new ladder in progression mode, then another, for as long as you like.
Our bank holds 120 hand-built puzzles per language, each checked so that every pair of rungs holds one letter apart. Add to that the daily challenge with its full archive, the weekly challenge for difficulty lovers, and an optional Premium plan that removes ads and gives free hints. You keep the exact pleasure of LinkedIn Crossclimb, the same ladder mechanic, but without the one-puzzle-a-day limit.
Frequently asked questions
What is Crossclimb?
Crossclimb is a free online word ladder puzzle. You solve five clues to find five-letter words, then stack them into a ladder where each rung differs from the one above and below it by a single letter. A final clue then asks you to guess the top and bottom words that close the ladder.
Is Crossclimb free to play?
Yes. Crossclimb is completely free, with no download and no mandatory sign-up. You can play as many ladders as you like directly in your browser, on desktop or mobile. An optional Premium plan removes ads and gives you free hints.
How is this different from LinkedIn Crossclimb?
LinkedIn Crossclimb gives you one puzzle per day inside the LinkedIn app or website. Our version keeps the exact same word-ladder rule but adds unlimited games, a daily challenge with a leaderboard and a streak, a weekly challenge, and a bank of 120 hand-built puzzles per language, all with no account required.
How does the Crossclimb scoring work?
Each puzzle starts at 1000 points. Every mistake, a wrong word or a wrong end, costs you 100 points, down to a floor of 200. Reordering the ladder itself is always free. Finishing a ladder with no mistake keeps the full 1000 points.
What if I get stuck on a puzzle?
Every unsolved clue and every end has a Hint button that reveals the next letter of the word, one at a time. After a few letters the answer often clicks, and once all the letters are revealed the word is validated automatically, so you can always finish. Each revealed letter costs 100 points, like a mistake, but for Premium members hints are free.
How long are the words?
Every rung of a Crossclimb ladder is a five-letter word. A full ladder holds seven words: the five you find from the clues, plus the top and bottom words you guess at the end from a final clue.
Do I need a big vocabulary?
Not really. Crossclimb leans on everyday words rather than obscure ones. The challenge comes from the ladder logic, spotting which words sit one letter apart, more than from rare vocabulary. The strict spelling check simply means each answer must be the exact five-letter word.
What is the Crossclimb daily challenge?
Each day at midnight Paris time, a single ladder is generated for every player worldwide. You get one shared puzzle, a daily leaderboard and a streak to keep alive by coming back every day. Past dates stay available and replayable in the archive.
What is the Crossclimb weekly challenge?
Every Monday, a tougher ladder goes live for the week, with its own leaderboard. It is the same word-ladder rule, aimed at players who want a harder test beyond the daily puzzle.
Can I play Crossclimb with two players or with friends?
Yes. Crossclimb has a real-time multiplayer mode: create a private room, share the invite link with no account needed, and race a friend over 5 rounds on the same ladders. You can also face a random opponent through matchmaking. To keep it fair, letter hints cost points for both players in multiplayer, and the highest total after 5 rounds wins the duel.