Word games online: words from a word, word search, Balda and hangman

Word games stretch your vocabulary, and a round only takes a couple of minutes. This collection gathers word games you can play online for free with no sign-up, on your own or with a friend.

In Words from a Word you make as many short words as you can out of the letters of one long word: each letter is used once, and every level gives you three minutes. There are thirty levels, and the starting words keep getting longer. Word search hides themed words in a grid of letters; they run through neighbouring cells with right-angle turns, and the grid grows from 5×5 to 9×9.

Balda is the classic pen-and-paper word game: on each turn you add one letter to a 5×5 board and make a word through it, while the built-in dictionary checks it for you. Your opponent is the computer on three difficulty levels or a friend on the same screen. In hangman you guess the word letter by letter with the help of a riddle, and you can afford six misses. In two-player mode one of you sets the word and the other guesses.

For a bit of competition pick Balda or hangman; for a quiet evening, Words from a Word and word search fit best.