Wörter

Wörter is a word-wheel crossword that teaches your first German words, for computers and phones. Swipe across the letters on the wheel to spell each word and fill a little crossword of Bauhaus tiles on a café table in Berlin, set for coffee and cake. Every clue gives the word's meaning in English, so you can play from your very first day of German.

• Nine puzzles from Unit 1 of our studio's beginner German lessons: greetings from Guten Morgen to Guten Abend, du and Sie, and introducing yourself. 32 German words in all.
• Ä, Ö, Ü and ß are letters of their own on the wheel and in the crossword, so you spell every word the way German writes it: Tschüss, heißen. No umlaut keys on your keyboard? Type ue for ü and ss for ß.
• One clue at a time on a big card: the word's meaning in English, with the German around it (guten _ _ _ _ _ _ for good morning). Nouns keep their capital letter and their article, as German writes them (der Name).
• Swipe, tap or type: swipe across the letters, tap them one at a time, or type them on a keyboard.
• Stuck? A hint shows one letter (you hold three, and a used one comes back after 30 seconds of play), and Shuffle mixes the wheel. There's no clock.
• A short grammar tip after puzzles 1, 4, 6 and 8, about the words you just played: which greeting fits the time of day and the person, du or Sie, and how to say your name.
• The light follows the day, from the morning sun on the table (GUTEN MORGEN) to the tea light at night (GUTEN ABEND). Your progress saves as you play, and you can replay any puzzle.
• No background music, just sound effects as you play: a glockenspiel, a Berlin barrel organ, sparrows by day. The sound button turns it all off.

Controls

• Mouse: press a letter and drag across the others, then let go to check the word · or click the letters one at a time and click ✓ · click a number or a word's squares to see its clue · the bulb gives a hint, the arrows shuffle
• Keyboard: type the letters (ä ö ü ß, or ae oe ue ss) · Enter checks · Backspace takes one back · Esc clears the word, or pauses · Space shuffles · ? gives a hint
• Phone: swipe across the letters and lift your finger · or tap them one at a time and tap ✓ · tap a number or a word's squares to see its clue

Tell us what you think

Your feedback decides what we work on next. Tell us in the comments:

• Did finding the words feel good? Did you want to play the next puzzle?
• Were the puzzles too easy, too hard or about right? Did you need the hints?
• Were the clues clear? If one puzzled you, which word was it?
• Did the umlauts and the ß feel natural to spell on the wheel, or to type?
• Would you play more units?
• What did you play on (device and browser), and did it run smoothly?

Support the game

Wörter is free to play. If you enjoyed it and want to help it grow, the Support this game button below takes any amount. Thank you!

More free games: playogames.com

Credits

The German (the words, their meanings and the grammar tips) is Unit 1 of our studio's beginner German lessons, written with AI. The café table, the tiles and every sound are made by the game's own code, and the picture clues are your device's own emoji. Font: Nunito (SIL Open Font License). Full credits and licences: CREDITS.txt in the game's folder.