Free Daily Puzzle Games You Can Play in Your Browser (2026)
A good daily puzzle takes a few minutes, gives everyone the same challenge, and is gone until tomorrow. The best ones also run in a browser tab, with nothing to install. This is our list of the free daily puzzles worth bookmarking in 2026, sorted by the kind of thinking they ask for.
Full disclosure: we make Nightlit, and it’s on this list. Everything else is here because it’s genuinely good, and we’ve noted where a game needs an account or limits what’s free.
Quick picks
| If you like… | Start with |
|---|---|
| Words | Wordle, Connections, Strands |
| Logic | Queens, Nightlit, daily Sudoku |
| Numbers | Nerdle |
| Maps | Worldle, Globle |
| Movies | Framed |
| Chess | Lichess daily puzzle |
Word puzzles
1. Wordle
Where: nytimes.com/games/wordle
Guess a five-letter word in six tries, with coloured tiles telling you which letters are right. Still the template for every game on this list. Free to play without an account; signing in to a free NYT Games account keeps your streak across devices.
2. Connections
Where: nytimes.com/games/connections
Sixteen words, four hidden groups, four mistakes allowed. The groups are designed to overlap, so the fun is in the red herrings. Free.
3. Strands
Where: nytimes.com/games/strands
A themed word search on a grid of letters, where one word (the “spangram”) stretches across the whole board and names the theme. Free.
4. The Mini Crossword
Where: nytimes.com/crosswords/game/mini
A tiny crossword most people finish in a minute or two. The best on-ramp if full crosswords feel like homework.
5. Waffle
Where: wafflegame.net
A grid of six interlocking words with all the letters already in place but scrambled. You swap letters to fix every word, with a limited number of swaps. More logic than vocabulary.
6. Squaredle
Where: squaredle.app
Find words by connecting neighbouring letters in a small grid, including diagonals. Easy to start, hard to finish 100%.
7. Contexto
Where: contexto.me
Guess a secret word. Each guess is ranked by how close it is in meaning, so you drift toward the answer by association. It has English, Spanish and Portuguese versions.
Logic puzzles
8. Queens
Where: linkedin.com/games/queens
Place one queen in every row, column and coloured region, with no two queens touching, even diagonally. A clean, satisfying logic grid. It lives inside LinkedIn, so you’ll want an account to play and keep a streak.
9. Nightlit
Where: playnightlit.com
Our game, so judge for yourself. It’s a daily take on the classic Lights Out puzzle: one 5x5 board for everyone, and every tap flips a tile and its four neighbours. Turn the whole board gold, ideally in par (the fewest possible taps) for three stars. Most daily boards take a minute or two once you know the trick. Free in the browser in English and Spanish, no account. There’s an optional paid tier (Nightlit Plus) for unlimited extra boards and harder 6x6 and 7x7 grids; the daily board is always free. If you’re new to the puzzle, our Lights Out solver and guide explains the method.
10. Daily Sudoku
Where: sudoku.com daily challenge
A fresh Sudoku every day, free in the browser. Expect ads on free Sudoku sites; it’s how they stay free.
Number puzzles
11. Nerdle
Where: nerdlegame.com
Wordle for equations. Guess a valid eight-character calculation in six tries. Easier than it sounds after the first couple of days, and a nice change from words.
Geography puzzles
12. Worldle
Where: worldle.teuteuf.fr
Identify a country from its silhouette. Each wrong guess tells you the distance and direction to the answer.
13. Globle
Where: globle-game.com
Guess a mystery country on a 3D globe. Countries turn hotter colours the closer you get. Great for learning where the small ones are.
Movies and chess
14. Framed
Where: framed.wtf
Name the movie from a single still frame. Every wrong guess reveals another frame, up to six.
15. Lichess daily puzzle
Where: lichess.org/training/daily
One chess tactic a day from a real game, free and ad-free on the open-source Lichess. You don’t need to be a strong player, and if you want more, Lichess’s puzzle trainer keeps feeding you tactics matched to your level.
How to pick (and not burn out)
It’s tempting to bookmark all fifteen. Don’t. Daily games work because they’re small. A routine of three is the sweet spot:
- One word game to warm up (Wordle or Connections).
- One logic or number game for a different kind of thinking (Queens, Nightlit or Nerdle).
- One wildcard you rotate: maps, movies or chess.
That’s around ten minutes a day. If you’d like the reasoning behind keeping it short, we wrote about why a 2-minute daily puzzle is a good habit. And if you’re specifically after Wordle-style games, see 7 daily puzzle games like Wordle.
What makes a daily game worth keeping
- Same puzzle for everyone. That’s what makes sharing your result fun.
- Short and finite. One board a day, then it’s done.
- Fair. Solvable by reasoning, not luck. (In Nightlit, every board is generated from a solved grid, so a solution always exists.)
- Respectful of your time. No forced sign-ups to play today’s puzzle.
Play today’s board
If logic puzzles are your thing, today’s Nightlit board is waiting. It’s one grid, a minute or two, and the same board your friends get.
Play today's Nightlit, free