Games / Word Games / Zed Quest / Guide
Zed Quest
A sliding tile puzzle where the numbers are letters. Merge A and A into B, B and B into C, and keep climbing toward Z. Spot a real word in a row and it cashes out for points and extra moves.
What is Zed Quest?
Zed Quest is a letter merge game on a 5 by 5 board. Every swipe slides all the tiles as far as they'll go in that direction. When two matching letters bump together, they merge into the next letter of the alphabet. The goal is to reach the highest letter you can, and the summit is Z.
The twist is words. Any time tiles in a row spell a real word left to right, or tiles in a column spell one top to bottom, that word cashes out. You score big, the tiles leave the board, and you get moves back. So you're always balancing two plans: build high letters, and spell words with the letters you have.
Zed Quest is free and plays in the browser on phone, tablet or computer, with no download. Your best score, top letter and every word you've cashed are saved on your device.
How to play
- The board starts with two tiles. Swipe up, down, left or right.
- Every tile slides that way. Two equal letters that meet merge into one tile of the next letter. Each tile can merge once per swipe.
- After each swipe, a new tile appears in an empty square.
- If 3 or more tiles in a row or column spell a word in reading order, they glow and cash out.
- Keep going until you run out of moves or the board jams with nothing able to slide or merge.
Each tile shows its letter plus a small number in the corner: A is 1, B is 2, all the way to Z at 26. Those numbers drive the scoring.
Moves
You start with 40 moves. Every swipe that moves something costs one. A swipe that does nothing is free, the board just gives a little bump. Words are how you buy more time:
| Word length | Moves back |
|---|---|
| 3 letters | +3 |
| 4 letters | +5 |
| 5 letters | +8 |
A 5 letter word is a full row or column, the longest the board allows. When you're down to 5 moves, the counter lights up and the game nudges you to go find a word.
Scoring
- Merges: twice the new letter's number. Making B is worth 4. Making M is worth 26. Making Z is worth 52.
- Words: add up the numbers of the letters in the word, then multiply by its length. CAB is (3 + 1 + 2) × 3 = 18 points.
- Combos: cash two words with one swipe and the total is multiplied by 1.5. Three words at once is doubled.
Each row and column cashes at most one word per swipe, and the game picks the longest one in that line. Higher letters make bigger words, so a word built from mid alphabet tiles can be worth far more than one made of A, B and C.
Undo
Undo takes back your last swipe, including the new tile that appeared. You start a game with 1, earn another for every word of 4 or 5 letters, and can hold up to 3. In Classic, undos you don't use carry into your next game (you always start with at least 1).
Controls
Swipe on a phone or tablet. On a computer, use the keys below.
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| Arrow keys or W A S D | Slide the tiles |
| Z, U or Backspace | Undo |
| Esc | Pause |
Classic, Daily Quest and leaderboards
Classic is a fresh random board every game. Daily Quest gives everyone the same tiles in the same order for the day, so scores are a fair race. Each daily starts with 1 undo, and a finished daily keeps your streak going. If you sign in, both your Classic best and your daily score go on the leaderboards.
The track along the top of the board shows how far up the alphabet you've climbed this game, with a marker for your all-time best letter.
Themes, the Alphabet and the word vault
Reaching a new letter for the first time ever unlocks backdrops for the board.
| Theme | Unlocks at letter |
|---|---|
| Dusk | Start |
| Candy | F |
| Ocean | I |
| Forest | L |
| Sunset | O |
| Galaxy | R |
| Golden | U |
The Alphabet screen lights up every letter you've ever reached and keeps a word vault of every word you've cashed, plus your single best scoring word.
Tips and strategy
- Keep your highest tile in a corner. It's the oldest trick in sliding merge puzzles for a reason. Pick a corner, keep swiping toward it, and avoid the one direction that would pull it out.
- New tiles follow you up the alphabet. Fresh tiles mostly land within a couple of letters of a point five below your best. About one in five is a vowel instead, so A and E keep turning up even late in a game. Low consonants like B and C get scarce, though, so the easy three letter words of the opening dry up.
- Spell with what you'll get. Since vowels keep coming, plan words around them. Early on, BAD, CAB, DAB and ACE are all easy to make from the first few letters.
- Cash words to stay alive. Moves run out faster than the board fills up. A cheap 3 letter word every few swipes keeps the counter healthy.
- Don't cash your best tile by accident. A word takes its letters off the board, including that F you worked hard on. Watch the row your top tile sits in.
- Save undo for jams. One undo can rescue a board that's about to lock up. It's worth more there than fixing a slightly wasteful swipe.
Questions
Is Zed Quest free?
Yes. It's free to play in your browser on phone, tablet or computer, with no download and no ads.
What is a letter merge game?
A sliding tile puzzle where matching tiles combine into a bigger one. In Zed Quest the tiles are letters, so A + A becomes B, and the top tile is Z.
Can you actually reach Z?
Yes, though it takes a long, careful game. Z is the last letter, and two Z tiles can't merge any further.
Which direction do words have to read?
Left to right in a row, or top to bottom in a column, with 3 or more tiles side by side and no gaps.
How do you get more moves?
Cash words. A 3 letter word gives 3 moves, a 4 letter word gives 5 and a 5 letter word gives 8.
Is there a daily Zed Quest?
Yes. Daily Quest gives everyone the same tiles each day, with its own leaderboard and streak.
