StillWords
The answer is in front of you. Twice.
Solve a literary riddle, then hunt down its answer in the letter grid. Some puzzles leave you with a haiku worth keeping. Play on iPhone, iPad or Mac.
Thoughtful puzzle games
A quieter place to play.
We’re here for the sort of puzzle that makes you stop, think and have one more go. That might be a word game, a riddle or a clever bit of logic. Some we make ourselves. Others are simply too good not to share.
Word, number, riddle and logic puzzles for unhurried play.
Our philosophy
Games can ask for your attention without demanding it.
A puzzle should give you a reason to stay, not punish you for leaving. No ads barging in, no notifications pulling you back and no manufactured urgency.
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Quiet by design
The puzzle gets the stage. Everything else knows when to step back.
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Made with care
Words, sounds, transitions, the feel of a tap—we fuss over all of it.
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Curiosity over competition
The best moment isn’t beating someone else. It’s when the answer finally clicks.
New release · Featured in the Meadow
SUM
A quiet game of mathematical noticing.
Small puzzles about order, balance, patterns and relationships. No timers, streaks or leaderboard — just the moment when everything falls into place. The first two sets, 32 puzzles in total, are free to explore.
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Choose a set
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Move the pieces
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Keep a curiosity
Also in the Meadow
Two more quiet games, each with its own way to settle in.
Five traditional Japanese games. One quiet palace.
Hanafuda, Shell Game, Mini Go, Tōsenkyō and Ban Sugoroku, gathered into one calm, tactile collection. Red Seal has been submitted to Apple and is currently under review.
From the journal
In the Meadow
Old machines, clever clues and the occasional design rabbit hole. Stories about where puzzles came from and why we keep coming back to them.
Solving Together Without Competing
A jigsaw on the table, a crossword between two chairs: some puzzles give conversation a third thing to look at, and make cooperation feel almost effortless.
Read article
The Crossword in Wartime
In 1944, D-Day codewords appeared in a newspaper crossword and brought MI5 to a schoolmaster's door. The true story is stranger—and less tidy—than the legend.
Read article
Why Some Puzzles Feel Fair
A difficult puzzle can be merciless and still feel fair. The difference is not kindness. It is whether the puzzle keeps its promises.
Read article
A Short Cultural History of the Pencil Eraser
From bread crumbs and raw rubber to a patent fight over the pencil tip: the eraser is a small history of how we learned to revise on paper.
Read articleThe Meadow
More puzzle games will grow here—slowly, on purpose.
Each one needs a clear idea, a fair challenge and the good sense to get out of your way. No ads. No streaks. No invented emergencies. StillWords was the first. SUM has joined it. The meadow can keep growing at its own pace.
Why Puzzle Meadow exists