How to play Unscramble: solving word jumbles

A jumble looks like nonsense until one familiar chunk clicks. These tricks help you find that chunk quickly.

The rules

Each round has ten words with their letters mixed up. Tap the letters in the right order, or type them, to spell a word. Any real word that uses all the letters counts. Each word scores 10 points, minus 3 for each hint you use.

Look for letter pairs

Some letters love to sit together: TH, CH, SH, ST, QU, CK, ER and ING. Spot one in the jumble and lock it together in your head.

Place the vowels

Most words alternate between consonants and vowels. Try a pattern like consonant-vowel-consonant-vowel and see which letters fit.

Think about endings

Longer words often end in -ED, -ER, -LY, -EST or -ING. Set those letters aside and unscramble what’s left.

Shuffle

Your brain gets stuck on the order it first sees. Tapping Shuffle shows the letters in a new order, and the word often jumps out.

Use hints wisely

A hint fills in the first letter of the word, and then the next. One hint is often all you need, and you still score 7 points.