The daily challenge, explained
At midnight UTC, Popple generates one puzzle for the entire world. Every player who picks the same grid size that day sees exactly the same letters, which makes the daily leaderboard a fair fight: same grid, same timer, same dictionary.
You get one attempt per grid size per day. There is no retry, which is what makes a good daily score worth bragging about.
How the puzzle is generated
The grid is derived from the date itself, so there is no human setter and no way to peek ahead. The 4×4, 5×5, and 6×6 boards are three separate puzzles with three separate leaderboards.
After the day ends, the full solution list for each grid is published in the archive, so you can see exactly which words you missed.
Streaks
Completing any daily challenge extends your streak by one day. Streaks feed two things: an XP multiplier and one-time gem milestones.
The XP multiplier is 1.0 plus 0.05 per streak day, capped at ×1.5 from day ten onward. The milestones pay out once each, the first at three days and the last at a full year.
| Streak length | Reward |
|---|---|
| 3 days | 3 gems |
| 7 days | 7 gems |
| 14 days | 10 gems |
| 30 days | 20 gems |
| 50 days | 30 gems |
| 100 days | 50 gems |
| 365 days | 100 gems |
Streak freezes
Life happens. A streak freeze, bought in the shop for 25 gems, protects your streak for one missed day and is consumed automatically. You can hold up to three at a time.
A freeze covers a whole missed day, not a missed grid size. Playing any one of the three daily boards keeps the streak alive without spending a freeze.
Daily leaderboards
Each day and grid size has its own leaderboard showing score, words found, and longest word. Rankings are final when the day rolls over. Past leaderboards stay visible in the archive along with each day's grid and full word list.
Frequently asked questions
When does the daily challenge reset?
At midnight UTC, for everyone at once. The site shows the same puzzle worldwide regardless of your time zone.
Do I need an account for the daily challenge?
You can play without one, but streaks, leaderboard entries, XP, and gems only accumulate on an account.
Can I play yesterday's puzzle?
Past puzzles are viewable in the archive with their complete word lists, but they can no longer be played for score. Only today's puzzle counts.