Daily Brains · a themed word search that gets craftier every day, from a listed Monday to a secret-message Sunday.
Ferret is the word search of Daily Brains (/daily). Each day sets one themed letter grid, the same for everyone. Monday shows the list of words to find; through the week the list gives way to clues, then to a bare category, while the words start running backwards and diagonally and near-miss red herrings are planted in the grid. At the weekend there is no list at all, just the theme and a count, and once every word is found the letters left over spell out a question, in the old secret-message tradition, whose answer earns a bonus.
STORY & LORE
How a grid is made
Every theme and word is hand-chosen (140 grids: 20 weeks, one list per weekday, in scripts/ferret/themes-src.mjs). A seeded generator (scripts/ferret/build-book.mjs) lays the words in, letting them cross where letters agree but never overlap along the same line, plants the red herrings on letters no word uses, then fills the rest. It throws a grid away unless every word reads exactly once in all eight directions, with no stray forward or backward copy anywhere. At the weekend there is no filler: the words must cover exactly the grid minus the length of the secret question, and the question's letters fill the gaps in reading order. The answers are XOR-scrambled in book.js so they cannot be read from the page source.
Checked independently
scripts/test-ferret.mjs decodes the shipped book the way the page does and re-reads every row, column and diagonal of all 140 grids as strings, both ways: each word exactly once, Monday words only forwards, herrings real near misses (one letter changed or two neighbours swapped) that spell no theme word, weekend leftovers spelling the question exactly, the weekday ramp, 140 days without a repeated theme or grid, and no emoji anywhere.
HOW IT PLAYS
Finding words
Drag along the letters in a straight line; the selection snaps to the nearest of the eight directions, so a wobbly thumb still lands. Or tap the first letter (it gets an orange ring) and then the last. Each found word gets its own highlighter-coloured capsule, and the same colour on its chip or clue below. Keyboard: arrows move a cursor over the grid, Space or Enter marks the first and then the last letter, H takes a hint, P pauses, S opens the weekend secret.
The weekly ramp
Monday: a 10x10 grid, the list shown, words read only forwards (right, down, and the two rightward diagonals). Tuesday: 11x11, the list shown, words in all eight directions, two red herrings. Wednesday: 11x11, clues only, three herrings. Thursday: 12x12, harder clues, four herrings. Friday: 12x12, only a category ("12 words for nonsense") and blank word lengths, six herrings. Saturday: no list, just the theme and a count, then the secret question. Sunday: a bigger grid, more words, and trickier riddles.
Red herrings
A red herring is a run of letters that nearly spells a word: GOUDE for GOUDA, or two letters swapped. Selecting one does nothing but earn a groan (and a secret achievement).
The weekend secret
When every weekend word is found, the unused letters light up gold in reading order and spell a question, such as "What has hands but cannot clap?". Answer it in three tries for a bonus (100, 70 or 40 points). Sharp players can read the spare letters and crack the question before finding every word.
Hints and scoring
Hint rings the first letter of a word (the selected clue or chip, or the next unfound one) for 30 points; pressing it again on the same word reveals the whole word, which then scores nothing. A day scores 550 for the words, up to 250 for time (full under the weekday's par, fading to nothing at three times par), 200 for no hints (100 at the weekend, plus the secret bonus), minus 30 per hint. The maximum is 1000. A perfect day uses no hints and, at the weekend, cracks the secret on the first try.
Sharing
The share card never shows the grid or the words. It reads like: "Ferret #44 · Saturday (Hard) / Time: 14/14 words in 9:31, under par / No hints / Secret cracked, first try / 1000 pts · streak 4 / wowcool.world/daily/ferret".
GALLERY
THE WEEK
| Day | Level | What you are given | Grid | Words | Herrings | Par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Gentle | The word list (forwards only) | 10x10 | 8 | 0 | 2:30 |
| Tuesday | Easy | The word list | 11x11 | 10 | 2 | 4:00 |
| Wednesday | Steady | Clues and lengths | 11x11 | 10 | 3 | 6:00 |
| Thursday | Tricky | Clues and lengths | 12x12 | 11 | 4 | 7:30 |
| Friday | Tough | A category and blank lengths | 12x12 | 12 | 6 | 9:00 |
| Saturday | Hard | Theme and count, then a secret question | 11x11 | 12-16 | 0 | 13:00 |
| Sunday | Fiendish | Theme and count, then a harder secret | 12x12 | 13-17 | 0 | 16:00 |
REWARDS
| Event | Reward |
|---|---|
| Finish the grid | 15 Tickets |
| Perfect day | +25 Tickets |
| First Scent (first finish) | Bronze · 10 Tickets |
| Clean Nose (perfect day) | Silver · 20 Tickets |
| Quick Ferret (every word under par) | Bronze · 15 Tickets |
| Secret Keeper (crack a weekend secret) | Bronze · 15 Tickets |
| Sharp Nose (crack the secret before finding every word) | Gold · 40 Tickets |
| Sunday Burrow (Sunday with no hints) | Gold · 40 Tickets |
| Every Burrow (finish on all seven weekdays) | Gold · 40 Tickets |
| Red Herring (secret: fall for a near miss) | Bronze · 5 Tickets |
| Three Burrows (3-day streak) | Bronze · 15 Tickets |
| A Week Underground (7-day streak) | Gold · 40 Tickets |
| Master Ferreter (30-day streak) | Legendary · 100 Tickets |
VERSION HISTORY
- First release: one themed word search a day on a Monday-to-Sunday ramp (list, list in eight directions, clues, clues, category, then secret-message weekends).
- 140 hand-chosen themes (20 weeks); grids generated and verified offline, answers scrambled in book.js; scripts/test-ferret.mjs re-checks every grid.
- Drag with 8-direction snapping or tap first and last letter; highlighter capsules in distinct colours; hints that cost points; weekend secret question with three tries.
- Timer and pause, sound toggle, auto-save, results with score, spoiler-free share text, streaks and eleven achievements.