My new favorite mental oasis: Raddle
I've got a new word game habit.
Having something engaging for my brain to grind on keeps me calm. Without it, my mind sets to gnawing on the horrors of the world. My brain needs a scratching post so I don't ruin the furniture.
This is why I do a lot of crossword puzzles. A lot a lot. I play a few other word games, too, but crosswords are where it's at. I was recently introduced to a word game that I find as satisfying as a good crossword: Raddle.
(Thanks to my friend Chuck for telling me about it! Chuck is a game designer himself, he worked on some of my favorite games.)
The Mystery League
Raddle is a word ladder—not a type of word game I'm usually drawn to. But the execution is perfection.
You're given a starting word and an ending word, and 10 blank slots in-between to be filled in. Each rung on the ladder is a word that is somehow linked to the word above—a shared phrase, a connecting concept, an anagram, a pop culture reference, or what have you.1 The ingenious twist in Raddle is that you are given a bank of 11 possible clues, and you don't know which clue goes with which blank slot.
When you successfully fill in a word and advance to the next rung, the clues are all updated with the new word, too. Sometimes the not-right clues are good for a giggle:
- "On a WAFFLE, this info is found in parentheses"
- "They famously sang about WAFFLE"
- "Something not found on a WAFFLE unicorn, presumably"
Raddle is the creation of Sandy Weisz, whose day job is as the main force behind The Mystery League, creating real-life immersive puzzle experiences in Chicago. At the bottom of each Raddle, you get a little insight into the man behind the puzzle, as he often chooses theme weeks related to pop culture he enjoys. They aren't sponsored mentions, it's just his genuine enthusiasm peeking out. I love that.
The challenge level feels just right, which is uncanny. I would expect a puzzle like this to be more uneven, with some days being far too easy and others having impossible leaps that leave me stuck, but somehow, every day, it's a just-right balance. A well-constructed puzzle lets the solver feel like they're the clever one. Pulling that off, day after day, takes an incredible talent (and skill, and experience), and my hat is off to Sandy Weisz.
Raddle has no timer, and there's zero penalty for getting anything wrong, so you aren't dinged for wild attempts. That allows the solver to relax and let their creative brain flow unfettered.
It's quick to play, so it fits nicely into my morning routine, but it doesn't feel lightweight. It's a nice little protein snack of a game.
There's a new Raddle puzzle published each day, and he started earlier this year. I made the mistake of swiftly devouring all of the published Raddles, harrumph, so now I only get a fix for my Raddle jones once each day, right when I wake up.
You can play Raddle at raddle.quest.
The Mystery League
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