Free, and what "free" means here

Plenty of word games say free and then stop you at rank three. So here's the actual deal with Wordfrost, in plain terms.

On the web (this site)

• The daily puzzle is free from the first word to the last. No rank cap.
• Unlimited mode is free too. Generate as many puzzles as you want.
• No account, no email, no sign-in. Streaks and stats are stored in your browser.
• No ads on the website.
• It works offline once you've opened it, and you can add it to your home screen like an app.

On the iPhone app (coming soon)

The app will be free to download with the same puzzles. It shows a small banner ad during play and an occasional full-screen ad between puzzles; extra hints beyond the two free ones come from watching a short ad. A one-time in-app purchase removes all ads for good. That's the whole business model. No subscription, no coins, no energy meters.

Why it can be free

Puzzles cost nothing to make. Each one is generated on your device from a 76,000-word open dictionary (SCOWL), filtered so it has 20 to 45 common words and at least one pangram. Nobody is hand-editing a puzzle a day, so there's nothing to charge for. The daily puzzle is picked from a fixed list so everyone plays the same one.

What you get

• Seven letters on a snowflake. Words must be 4+ letters and use the center letter. Letters can repeat.
• Points per letter, 7 bonus points for a pangram, and eight ranks from Flurry to Aurora.
• Hints: a grid of first letter by word length, so you know how many 5-letter words start with T, for example.
• Streak tracking and stats. Share your rank without spoiling the words.
• Yesterday's answers, every morning.

If you came here from the NYT puzzle and want the differences spelled out, read why Wordfrost works as a Spelling Bee alternative. Otherwise, just play.