Climb the Word Ladder

A word can look correct and still break the ladder. The secret is not finding any real word. You must use the letter you are given, and land on a real word every time.

Picture a ladder with a starting word at the bottom. Beside each new rung sits one supplied letter tile. Replace one letter with that tile. Keep the other letters in their exact places. The result must be a real word before you climb. Then repeat with the next tile. Do not shuffle several letters to rescue an answer. Do not stop just because you find a plausible word. Every supplied tile must be used, in order, with a valid word on every rung. Check each rung in three moves. Point to the supplied tile. Test which position can change. Then read the whole result aloud. If it is not a word, try a different position.

Let's work through an example. Start with COLD. The supplied tiles are: the letter R, then the letter W, then the letter A. Use one tile on each rung, in that order. Replace one letter each time, keep every other position unchanged, and write a real word on all three rungs. What word finishes the ladder? First tile: R. Change the third letter of COLD, the L, to R. The other positions stay fixed. COLD becomes CORD. CORD is a real word, so the first rung is secure. Next tile: W. In CORD, replace the first letter, C, with W. That gives WORD. Check it... W, O, R, D. It is valid, and only one position changed. Last tile: A. In WORD, replace the second letter, O, with A. The result is WARD. That is a real word, and every supplied tile has now been used. The completed ladder is COLD, CORD, WORD, WARD. The answer is WARD.

Follow the tiles, change the named position only, and check the whole word at every rung. Use EVERY supplied letter. Then your ladder will be valid from bottom to top. You have got this!