Games / Word Games / Balloon Words / Guide
Balloon Words
A hidden word, a category clue and a basket held up by six balloons. Guess the word one letter at a time, and every wrong letter pops a balloon. Keep at least one and your critter floats down for a soft landing.
What is Balloon Words?
Balloon Words is our friendly take on the classic guess the word, letter by letter game. You see a row of blank tiles and a clue like Fruit, Ocean Life or Fairy Tales. Pick a letter. If it's in the word, every copy of it appears. If it isn't, a balloon pops.
Six balloons carry a basket with a little critter inside, starting with Pip the Bunny. The fewer balloons left, the lower the basket sinks. Lose them all and a parachute opens, so even a miss ends with a gentle bump on the grass and a cheerful note that everyone is fine. No gallows, nothing scary, which makes it a good pick for kids.
It's free, it runs in your browser on phone, tablet or computer, and there's no download.
How to play
- Read the clue at the top of the card. It tells you the category.
- Tap a letter on the on-screen keyboard, or type it.
- Right letters fill in every matching tile. Wrong letters pop a balloon and get marked on the keyboard so you don't try them twice.
- Fill the whole word while you still have a balloon to land safely.
- Tap Next word (or press Enter) to take off again.
You can miss five letters and still save the word. The sixth miss pops the last balloon. Guessing a letter you've already tried doesn't cost anything, the key just wiggles at you.
The clue categories
There are 44 categories, all everyday stuff. A sample: Fruit, Vegetables, Farm Animals, Wild Animals, Ocean Life, Birds, Bugs, Kitchen, Desserts, Breakfast, Weather, Sports, Music, Clothes, Colors, Jobs, Space, Vehicles, Toys, School, Shapes, Flowers, Tools, Camping, Beach, Pets, Gems, Feelings, Fairy Tales, Winter, Countries, Baby Animals, Hats, Bakery and Nature.
In Classic we keep track of the last 90 words you've seen and try not to repeat them, so you won't get the same handful over and over.
Modes
Classic
Endless words and one goal: how many safe landings in a row can you make? Words start short and get longer the further your streak goes.
| Safe landings so far | Word length |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 | 4 to 6 letters |
| 3 to 5 | 5 to 7 letters |
| 6 to 9 | 5 to 9 letters |
| 10 and up | 6 to 12 letters |
The run ends the first time the parachute opens.
Daily Trio
Three words a day, the same for everyone: one of 4 to 6 letters, one of 5 to 7, and one of 6 to 10. A miss doesn't end the trio, you just move on to the next word. Play it on back to back days to build a streak, and share your result as a row of balloons.
Scoring
Classic
Each word scores 10 points for every different letter in it, plus 25 for every balloon you saved, minus 20 for each reveal you used. That total is boosted by your streak: 10% extra for each landing in a row before it, up to double.
Daily Trio
Each word scores 100 points per balloon saved, plus 10 per letter, minus 50 per reveal. Saving balloons matters far more here than in Classic.
Sign in to put your Classic best and your daily score on the leaderboards.
Reveals
The Reveal button fills in one letter you haven't found yet, picked at random, and shows every copy of it in the word. It never pops a balloon. You start with 2 reveals and earn another every 3 safe landings, and you can hold up to 5.
The Critter Club
Safe landings add up over every game you play, and they bring new passengers. There are 24 critters to meet. Tap any one you've unlocked in the Critter Club to make it your flyer.
| Critter | Total safe landings |
|---|---|
| Pip the Bunny | Start |
| Ember the Fox | 1 |
| Bao the Panda | 3 |
| Lily the Frog | 5 |
| Hoot the Owl | 7 |
| Puddle the Duckling | 10 |
| Mochi the Kitten | 16 |
| Bandit the Raccoon | 27 |
| Waddle the Penguin | 35 |
| Otto the Otter | 49 |
| Maple the Bear Cub | 60 |
| Ripple the Axolotl | 84 |
| Stripes the Tiger Cub | 91 |
| Comet the Unicorn Pony | 97 |
That's a selection. The rest, including Truffle the Piglet, Biscuit the Puppy, Gum the Koala and Nutmeg the Squirrel, fill the gaps in between.
Tips and strategy
- Open with vowels. E and A show up in a huge share of English words. Try one or both first, then O.
- Then go for the common consonants. R, T, N, S and L are the usual next picks. They turn up often and they fill in the word's shape fast.
- Use the clue hard. A 6 letter word under Desserts is a short list. Think of candidates before you guess, and pick letters that split them apart.
- Watch the shape. Once a few letters are in, look at where the gaps are. A blank between two consonants is usually a vowel.
- Spend reveals when you're down to two balloons. They don't pop anything, so a reveal late in a tight word is the best way to keep a streak alive.
- Long words pay more in Classic. Points come from different letters in the word, so a 9 letter word with 8 different letters is worth a lot more than a short one.
Questions
Is Balloon Words like hangman?
It's the same guess a letter idea as that old pencil and paper game, but with balloons and a parachute instead of a gallows. A miss just means a soft landing.
How many wrong guesses do you get?
Six balloons, so you can miss five letters and still save the word. The sixth miss ends it.
Is Balloon Words free?
Yes. It's free in your browser on phone, tablet or computer, with no download and no ads.
Is Balloon Words good for kids?
We made it with kids in mind. The categories are everyday things, and nothing bad happens when you lose a word.
What's the best first letter to guess?
E is the most common letter in English words, with A close behind. Starting with those two gives you the best chance of a hit.
How do you unlock new critters?
Make safe landings. They count across all your games, and a new critter joins at set totals up to 97.
