How to Play the LinkedIn Wend Game
Wend is a word-path puzzle where four hidden words snake through a 5x5 grid, bending around gray walls, using every open tile exactly once. These wend game rules apply to both the official LinkedIn version and our wend unlimited practice mode. Here is everything you need to know to solve it.
The Basic Rules
Study the dots before you start
Before touching any tiles, look at the dot indicators above the board. Each group of dots shows the length of one hidden word — three dots for a 3-letter word, six dots for a 6-letter word. This roadmap tells you exactly what you are looking for.
Read the wall shapes like corridors
The gray wall blocks carve open corridors through the 5×5 grid. Trace those corridors with your eyes before you start dragging. Count how many open tiles are in each connected region. A corridor containing exactly three tiles must hold the 3-letter word. A longer winding corridor likely holds the 5 or 6-letter word.
Place the longest word first
The 6-letter word has the most constrained path — it must snake through a specific long corridor with few branching options. Finding it first eliminates the most uncertainty and locks down a large section of the board, making the remaining words significantly easier to place.
Drag to trace, release to submit
Tap or click any letter tile to start a word, then drag horizontally or vertically to adjacent tiles. Diagonal moves are not allowed. Release when you have traced the correct number of letters. If the word is correct, it locks in with a color. If not, the path clears automatically — no penalty, just try again.
Use Hint when completely stuck
The Hint button reveals the starting tile of one unsolved word, highlighted briefly in yellow. It guides your path one step at a time rather than revealing the full answer. Use it sparingly — the satisfaction of solving without hints is much greater.
Undo and Reset are your safety net
Made a wrong turn? Undo steps back one tile at a time without losing your other completed words. If the whole puzzle feels wrong, hit Reset to clear all paths and start fresh — the words stay the same, only your progress is cleared.
Every tile must be used exactly once
This is the key rule that makes Wend unique. Unlike Boggle or word searches, you cannot leave any open tile unused. If your four words do not cover every open tile, the solution is wrong. Use this constraint to your advantage: if three words are placed and a leftover tile seems isolated, reconsider the path of an adjacent word.
Hint, Undo and Reset
Hint
Reveals the starting tile of one unsolved word, highlighted in yellow. Use it when you are completely stuck — it guides your path one step at a time rather than giving the full answer away. The challenge is more satisfying when you earn it.
Undo
Removes the last tile from your current path without clearing everything. Useful when you have traced four tiles and realized the fifth does not connect — just step back one at a time.
Tips and Strategies
Start with the longest word
The 6-letter word has the fewest valid positions in the grid. Its path must snake through a long connected corridor — and there are usually only one or two such corridors on any board. Find it first to lock down the biggest section, then work outward.
Count corridor lengths before touching anything
Before dragging a single tile, trace the open corridors with your eyes and count their lengths. A corridor of exactly 3 connected tiles must hold the 3-letter word. A corridor of 6 connected tiles must hold the 6-letter word. This eliminates most wrong guesses before you start.
Look for dead-end tiles first
Tiles with only one open neighbor — corners surrounded by walls — can only be the start or end of a word path. These constrained tiles anchor your solution. Find them before anything else and use them to narrow down where each word must begin or end.
Wrong path? Undo rather than reset
Undo steps back one tile at a time and preserves all your other completed words. Reset clears the entire board. Use Undo for small mistakes and Reset only when you want to rethink your approach from scratch.
Use difficulty progression deliberately
Easy mode uses common everyday words — ideal for learning the tiling mechanic without getting stuck on vocabulary. Medium uses a broader word pool. Hard uses the same pool as Medium but with more complex wall layouts. Spend at least 5 games on each level before moving up.
If you are stuck, count remaining tiles
When only one or two words remain unsolved, count the open tiles left on the board and match them to the remaining word lengths. If 9 tiles remain and you need a 4-letter and 5-letter word, you know exactly how many tiles each word must cover.
Treat it as a jigsaw, not a word search
The mental model that helps most players improve fastest: stop thinking about what words could fit the letters, and start thinking about what shapes could tile the remaining space. The word is constrained by the corridor shape — the shape tells you the path, and the path tells you the word.
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Tracing diagonals
Fix: Only horizontal and vertical moves count. If your path feels like it needs a diagonal, you are on the wrong route.
Mistake: Ignoring unused tiles
Fix: Every open cell must be part of a word. If you have found three words but several tiles are still uncovered, at least one word placement is wrong.
Mistake: Forcing a real word into the wrong shape
Fix: Just because a word exists in the dictionary does not mean it fits the grid. Wend requires the right word in the right shape at the right location — all three must align.
How Wend Compares to Other Word Games
| Feature | Wend | Wordle | Strands | Boggle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grid size | 5x5 | 5x1 | 6x8 | 4x4 |
| Letters reused | No | No | Some unused | Yes |
| Walls/obstacles | Yes | No | No | No |
| Words to find | 4 specific | 1 word | Theme words | Any words |
| Tiling constraint | Yes | No | Partial | No |
Wend Rules FAQ
Can paths cross each other?▾
No. Each tile belongs to exactly one word. Two paths cannot share or cross a cell.
Can I start a word from inside a longer word's path?▾
No. Once a word is locked in its tiles are fixed. Your new path must start on an unused cell.
Does the order I find the words matter?▾
No. You can find the four words in any order. The puzzle is complete when all four are correctly placed.
Are the words always common English words?▾
Yes. The official LinkedIn Wend puzzles use everyday vocabulary. Our practice puzzles use a curated list of common English words.
Ready to put these rules into practice? Play wend online free — same linkedin wend game rules, no LinkedIn account needed.
No login needed. Unlimited puzzles. Reveal answers anytime.