HATCH, the daily spelling game
HATCH is a word hunt game. You get a 5x5 board of letters and an egg. Connect touching letters to spell words. Every word cracks the egg a little more, and longer and rarer words crack it faster.
You hatch up to three eggs a day. How many points you score decides which creature hatches. Every creature goes into your collection book, which has 44 to find. The boards are the same for everyone each day. It is free to play with no signup, and there is no timer unless you turn timed mode on.
How to play
- Drag your finger across touching letters, in any direction including diagonals. Lift to submit the word. On a computer you can click the letters one by one, or type the word and press Enter.
- Words need three or more letters. Each letter square can be used once per word.
- Points rise with length: 3 letters is 1 point, 4 is 2, 5 is 4, 6 is 7, 7 is 11. Words with J, X, Z or K earn one extra point. Words found back to back build a combo. Rare words are accepted as bonus words worth 1 point each; they do not count toward the egg's rarity.
- The egg has three cracks. After the third crack you can hatch it, or keep going for a rarer creature: common, uncommon, rare or legendary. The lines for each rarity are set by how well players do on that board, so legendary is hard.
- A creature you already have turns into shards. Open the creature book to see what you have found.
Tips
- Find the short words first to crack the egg, then look for long ones.
- Look for endings that grow words: S, ED, ER and ING.
- Find words quickly one after another for a combo. The combo bonus adds a point to each word from the third in a row.
- Want a challenge? Turn on timed mode in settings: 90 seconds an egg, with lower targets.
Questions
Is HATCH like Boggle?
It is a similar kind of word hunt on a letter grid. HATCH adds eggs that crack as you score, a creature collection, and a daily board that is the same for everyone. There is no timer by default.
How do you pick the board?
Each day's boards are built so they always contain at least 70 everyday words and a few long ones. A solver checks every board, counting only everyday words, before it is used.
Which words count?
Everyday words earn full points and decide the creature. Any other real word from the ENABLE list, which is public domain, is accepted as a bonus word worth 1 point. Offensive words are removed from every list.
How many creatures are there?
44, across four rarity levels: common, uncommon, rare and legendary. More will come.
Is there a timer?
Not by default. Timed mode is optional in settings. It gives you 90 seconds an egg and lowers the target scores to match. The timer pauses when you leave the tab.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. It is made for touch. It plays sounds on every word, and Android phones also vibrate. You can switch both off in settings.