daily · 2026-08-18
rootbound 根
plant up to 5 roots, then spend growth pulses to trap letters — fully engulf a word to lock it into today's sentence (max 5 words).
starter hint journey
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about rootbound
rootbound is a daily word-territory puzzle. a sentence is hidden across a grid of letters, and you claim it by growing into it: tap a tile touching your territory to spend a growth pulse, or tap an isolated tile to plant a new root from your small seed budget. the board decides which one you spent, so there is no mode to switch.
the pressure is the budget. seeds are scarce and every wrong tile is spent territory, so the game is about reading which letters are worth reaching for before you commit. gold tiles reward the route; thorns punish it.
one board a day, identical for everyone, generated in your browser from the date — no account, no backend. the archive keeps every past day playable, and replays never affect your streak.
how to play 根
- Tap an empty tile to plant a seed (costs 1 of your 5 seeds). Tap a tile touching your territory to spend a pulse and grow into it instead.
- Fully surround every letter of a word to trap it — it locks into today's sentence, in order, up to 5 words.
- Gold tiles are worth bonus points if you claim them. Thorn tiles cost you points if you do.
- Your budget won't stretch to every word — prioritize. Stop early once you've started, or let the round end when both budgets run dry.
- Stuck? Spend a hint to spotlight a short word, or reveal the day's answer outright.
- Every word has its own color — trap one of its letters and that tile fills solid, so progress builds as you go (no preview before you tap). Claim a tile that isn't part of any word and it'll tell you how many more chances that letter has elsewhere on the board.