What is Skein?
Skein is a daily five-letter word puzzle. You have six guesses. After each guess, every letter is marked correct, present, or absent. Solve in as few guesses as you can.
How is Skein different from Wordle?
The mechanics will feel familiar — six guesses, three feedback states. The differences are deliberate:
- ·Hex tiles instead of squares.
- ·A cursor model that lets you fix mistakes mid-word without erasing your work.
- ·A weekly thread: Mon–Sat puzzles share a hidden theme that's revealed on Sunday.
- ·A spoiler-free share grid using brand glyphs (★ ◆ ○) instead of emoji squares.
Is the answer the same for everyone?
Yes. Every player gets the same daily puzzle, based on your local date. The week's puzzles are picked editorially in advance — they aren't generated.
What happens if I miss a day?
Your current streak resets. Your other stats — total played, total solved, guess distribution, max streak — are preserved. You can't go back and play a missed day in v1.
How does the weekly theme work?
Each week (Mon–Sun) is a "thread" — six daily puzzles plus a Sunday reveal. The six daily answers all relate to a hidden theme. You don't see the theme as you play; the Sunday end-of-day modal reveals it.
The theme doesn't help you solve faster, but noticing it as the week unfolds is the small reward for showing up.
When is a new week published?
New weeks are published before the prior Sunday ends. If a publication is ever delayed, Skein doesn't break — it stays on the most recent published week's last day until a new week is up.
Why hexagons?
Wordle's filled squares are the most-screenshot element of any word puzzle. Hex tiles let Skein be visibly its own thing the moment a share grid appears in a feed — without changing what makes the underlying puzzle satisfying.
Are my stats saved across devices?
No. Stats are stored locally in your browser. Open Skein on a different device and your streak starts fresh there. Account-based sync isn't planned for v1.
Can I play yesterday's puzzle?
Not in v1. The daily ritual is the point — one puzzle per day, today only. An archive mode for older days is on the roadmap for a later release.
Is there a hard mode?
Not in v1. Hard mode (where revealed letters must be reused in subsequent guesses) is planned for v1.1.
Is there an account or login?
No. Skein has no login, no account, and doesn't ask for an email. The whole experience runs in your browser.
Will Skein ever cost money?
No. Skein is free to play. Arctovec Games may run unobtrusive ads on content pages (like rules, strategy, and FAQ) but the play page stays ad-free.