Poople statistics.
Shortest-path statistics calculated from the checked puzzle records, rather than player scores or traffic estimates.
Difficulty distribution
Each published puzzle counts once, including repeated starting words. This overall distribution includes records whose exact date is unconfirmed.
| Difficulty | Minimum moves | Puzzles | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 5 or fewer | 247 | 54.5% |
| Moderate | 6 | 148 | 32.7% |
| Tricky | 7 | 27 | 6.0% |
| Hard | 8 | 24 | 5.3% |
| Expert | 9 or more | 7 | 1.5% |
The longest shortest paths.
“Hardest” here means the largest shortest-path distance, 10 moves. 1 record reaches that distance; every tie is listed.
- #388 · ITCH — 6 Sep 2026, 10 moves, Expert
By month
Records with an unconfirmed date are excluded from monthly totals. The full archive contains 1 such record.
| Month | Puzzles | Average moves | Maximum moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | 9 | 5.56 | 7 |
| October 2026 | 31 | 5.87 | 9 |
| September 2026 | 30 | 5.57 | 10 |
| August 2026 | 31 | 5.55 | 7 |
| July 2026 | 31 | 5.68 | 9 |
| June 2026 | 30 | 5.70 | 8 |
| May 2026 | 31 | 5.68 | 8 |
| April 2026 | 30 | 5.63 | 8 |
| March 2026 | 31 | 5.45 | 7 |
| February 2026 | 28 | 6.04 | 9 |
| January 2026 | 31 | 5.68 | 8 |
| December 2025 | 31 | 5.65 | 7 |
| November 2025 | 30 | 5.47 | 7 |
| October 2025 | 31 | 5.71 | 8 |
| September 2025 | 30 | 5.73 | 9 |
| August 2025 | 17 | 5.76 | 8 |
How to read the numbers
The average is the sum of each puzzle’s minimum move count divided by its number of records, rounded to two decimal places. Percentages in the distribution are rounded to one decimal place.
Difficulty labels reflect shortest distance only: Easy is 5 or fewer moves, Moderate is 6, Tricky is 7, Hard is 8, and Expert is 9 or more. They are not official difficulty ratings and do not describe how many people solved a puzzle.
Figures cover the verified records currently in the archive. Historical sequences are reconstructed from available official data; our methodology describes the limits. Browse every puzzle or explore the accepted word list.