About Anagrams Word Game
Anagrams is a free online anagram game: you get six letters and two minutes to find as many words as you can hiding inside them. Short words keep your score ticking over, but the real prize is the six-letter anagram that uses every tile — it's worth 2,000 points plus a time bonus for finding it fast.
If you grew up playing Text Twist or other word unscramble games, you'll feel right at home — this is anagrams online with no download or sign-up. Every round shows a board of blank slots for the words you're hunting, grouped by length, so you always know how many three-, four-, five- and six-letter words are still out there.
Play the ranked 2-minute mode to chase a spot on the leaderboard, or switch to Relaxed for an untimed round you can come back to later. Either way, every word you missed is revealed when the round ends, so each game quietly grows your vocabulary.
How to play Anagrams
- 1
Start a round
Press Play to reveal your six letters and start the clock. Every set is guaranteed to contain at least one six-letter word and at least 15 answers in total.
- 2
Build words
Tap the letter tiles (or type on your keyboard) to move them into the answer slots. Tap a placed tile to send it back, press Clear to start over, or Shuffle to rearrange the letters and spark new ideas.
- 3
Submit and score
Press Enter to submit. Real words fill their slot on the board and add to your score: 100 for three letters, 400 for four, 1,200 for five and 2,000 for six. Words that aren't in the list simply bounce back — there's no penalty.
- 4
Hunt the six-letter word
The first time you find a word that uses all six letters, you earn a time bonus of 20 points for every second remaining. Find it in the first 30 seconds and that's another 1,800 points.
- 5
Review what you missed
When the timer hits zero, the board fills in every word you didn't find, highlighted in red. Press New letters to jump straight into the next round.
Controls
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| Letter keys | Pick a matching tile |
| Tap a tile | Move it into the word (tap a placed tile to send it back) |
| Enter | Submit the word |
| Backspace / Esc | Remove the last letter / clear the word |
| Space | Shuffle the letters |
| P | Pause the timer (when P isn't one of your letters) |
Advertisement
Anagrams tips and strategy
Go for the long word first
Because of the time bonus, the six-letter anagram is worth far more in the first few seconds than at the end. Spend your opening moments shuffling and looking for it before you mop up short words.
Use common endings
Look for -ED, -ER, -ES, -ING and -LY patterns in your letters. If you see an S, almost every word you find has a plural version too — CAT, CATS; SNACK, SNACKS.
Shuffle often
Your brain locks onto the letter order in front of it. Hitting Space to shuffle every 15–20 seconds is the easiest way to see new combinations.
Work from a word you found
Every word you find is a stepping stone. Found STAR? Try RATS, ARTS, TSAR and STARE. Swapping one letter or reversing a chunk often reveals another answer.
Let the board guide you
The answer board shows how many words of each length remain, and the blanks are in alphabetical order. If the first four-letter blank comes before one you've found that starts with B, the missing word probably starts with A or B.
Don't ignore three-letter words
They're only 100 points each, but there are often eight or more of them. In the last 20 seconds, quick three-letter words are the fastest way to add points.
Type if you can
On a computer, typing is much faster than clicking. Letters are picked from the tiles automatically, and Enter submits instantly, so you can fire off words as fast as you think of them.
Scoring explained
- 3-letter word: 100 points
- 4-letter word: 400 points
- 5-letter word: 1,200 points
- 6-letter word: 2,000 points
- Time bonus: your first six-letter word adds 20 points for every second left on the clock
- Clear bonus: find every word on the board and the round ends early with 50 points for every second remaining
Our answer board lists everyday words, so every blank is something you can reasonably find. If you enter a real but less common word that fits the letters, it still counts: it scores normally and appears under Bonus words, but it never shows up as a missed word.
2-minute vs. Relaxed mode
2-minute is the classic ranked game. Your score goes onto the Anagrams leaderboard, and the timer pauses automatically if you switch tabs, or when you press the pause button (or P, when P isn't one of your letters), with the letters hidden so the clock stays fair.
Relaxed has no timer and isn't ranked. Your progress is saved on your device, so you can close the page and come back later. When you're done, press the flag button to reveal the words you missed.
What is an anagram?
An anagram is a word or phrase made by rearranging the letters of another — LISTEN and SILENT, or EARTH and HEART. Wordsmiths have played with anagrams for centuries, and timed "find the words in these letters" games became a casual-gaming favorite with titles like Text Twist.
Anagram games are a fun way to exercise vocabulary and spelling. For more letter puzzles, try the daily Spelling Bee, Word Scramble or Word Guess, or browse all of our word games.
Frequently asked questions
How is Anagrams different from Text Twist?
It plays the same way: six letters, a timer, and a board of blanks to fill. Our version is free in your browser with no download, works on phones, adds a time bonus for finding the six-letter word early, and offers an untimed Relaxed mode.
Is there always a six-letter word?
Yes. Every letter set is built from a real six-letter word, so there's at least one word that uses all six tiles. Some sets have two or three.
Why wasn't my word accepted?
Words must be 3–6 letters and appear in our dictionary. Proper nouns, abbreviations and hyphenated words aren't allowed. Each tile can only be used once per word.
What are bonus words?
Bonus words are real but less common words that aren't shown as blanks on the board. They score the same points as any other word of that length and are listed separately, and they never count as missed.
Can I pause the game?
Yes. Press the pause button in 2-minute mode (or the P key, as long as P isn't one of your six letters). The game also pauses automatically if you switch to another tab or window, and the letters are hidden while paused.
Is my score saved?
Your best 2-minute score is saved on your device and submitted to the global leaderboard. Relaxed rounds are unranked, but your progress in them is saved so you can finish later.
Is Anagrams free to play?
Yes, completely free with no sign-up or download. It works in any modern browser on phones, tablets and computers.