Halloween Word Scramble: how to play

Halloween Word Scramble is a free online word scramble game full of friendly Halloween words. Snowy the fluffy white owl has jumbled pumpkin, candy, costume and night-sky words: put each one back in order before the clock runs out. Words grow longer every level, from 4 letters in the Pumpkin Patch to 8 at Star Castle.

How to play

Tap the letter tiles, or type them, to spell the word in the answer row. Tap a placed letter (or press Backspace) to send it back; Delete clears the row.
When every slot is full, press CHECK (or Enter). Any real English word made from all the letters counts, not only the one Snowy picked.
A wrong word costs one of your three hearts and the letters fly back. So does the level clock running out: the word is shown, the clock refills and a new word comes in.
SHUFFLE (Space) mixes the letters left in the rack. HINT (?) lets Snowy put the next right letter in place for 10 seconds of the clock, for up to half the letters of a word.
Each word scores 10 points per letter you placed yourself, times the level number, times your streak of clean words (no hint, no mistake; up to ×5). Clearing a level adds a time bonus.
Every level gives up to three stars: clear it, clear it without losing a heart, and clear it under the target time.
Every letter types, so press Esc (or the SOUND button) to turn the sound off or on.

The five levels

Pumpkin Patch: 4 words of 4 letters in 75 seconds
Candy Lane: 4 words of 5 letters in 90 seconds
Owl Woods: 4 words of 6 letters in 120 seconds, with a clue that names the theme (candy, costumes, night sky…)
Moon Hill: 3 words of 7 letters in 130 seconds
Star Castle: 3 words of 7 and 8 letters in 160 seconds, plus one spare tile to leave out

Clear Star Castle and the five places loop again with new words and less time on every clock (20% less on lap 2, never under 60%). You have three hearts for the whole run, and the game is the same for everyone each day, so you can compare scores. Press Esc to turn the sound off or on.

Tips

Look for Halloween pieces first: endings such as -ING and -ER, or a double letter like the two O's in BALLOON.
Read the clue: knowing the word is CANDY & TREATS or NIGHT SKY narrows it down fast.
At Star Castle the spare tile is never part of the word. If one letter won't fit anywhere, leave it out.

Questions

Is the Halloween word scramble free?

Yes. Halloween Word Scramble is free to play online in your browser, with no download and no sign-up. There are new words every day, the same for everyone.

Does any word count?

Yes. Any real English word that uses every letter counts (at Star Castle, every letter except the spare tile), so if the letters spell two words, either one solves it.