Keysmash Modes: Daily, Unlimited, Library, and Archive
The same vowel-fill puzzle comes in four modes — a shared daily, on-demand unlimited boards, a permanent numbered library, and a replayable archive. Here is what each one does to your streak, your stats, and your ability to share the exact set you played.
Four ways to play, one puzzle
Every mode on The Keysmash Game serves the same puzzle: a themed set of words with the vowels a, e, i, o, and u blanked out (y is never blanked), a clue on each word, and a board you solve by typing the vowels back in. What changes between modes is where the board comes from — a date, a random seed, or a permanent number — and what your finish does to your streak, your stats, and your ability to share the exact set you played.
All four modes offer the same six lengths, from the four-word warm-up to the nine-word sitting, and all of them are free with no account. Here is what each mode actually does, and which one to open for the session you have in mind.
Daily: six shared boards and the streak
The daily is the shared ritual. Every UTC date has six fixed boards — one per word length, four through nine — and everyone who plays on that date solves the same sets. The boards are deterministic: a date plus a length always produces the same themed words, which is what makes comparing times with a friend meaningful.
The daily is also the only mode that touches your streak. Finishing any one of today's lengths, on today's date, keeps the streak alive; solving a second length the same day is practice, not extra credit. Replaying a past day from the archive never counts — the streak measures consecutive days of showing up, and only the current day proves that.
The daily is also the only mode eligible for the leaderboard. Each word length has its own daily table, and signed-in players submit their finish time and hint count when they solve today's board; submissions faster than a plausible human solve are rejected, so the table reflects real play. Unlimited, library, and archive boards never appear on the leaderboard.
Unlimited: fresh boards on demand, shared by seed
Unlimited mode deals a brand-new themed set whenever you ask, at any length. Press New puzzle and the server draws a fresh random seed; the board you get is generated deterministically from that seed, so it is random the first time and fixed forever after.
That seed is what makes unlimited boards shareable: the page URL carries it as ?seed=..., and anyone who opens the link gets the identical set. The share button on a finished unlimited board copies that seeded link, so you can race a friend on exactly the same words. Your progress on a seeded board is saved in your browser as you play, so a refresh never loses a half-solved set.
The library: 1,800 numbered puzzles
The library is the permanent collection: three hundred numbered puzzles at each of the six lengths, 1,800 in total. Puzzle #42 of the seven-word set is the same themed board today, tomorrow, and for anyone you send the link to — the length and the number are the coordinates the generator rebuilds it from.
That permanence makes the library the best training ground. Pick the length you want to drill, work the numbers in order, and replay a puzzle to see whether your time actually improves. Previous and next links on each board let you run a whole block in one sitting, and because nothing here is dated, there is no streak pressure attached.
The archive: every past daily, replayable
The archive lists every daily date since the site launched on 2026-07-09, and each date replays all six of that day's boards exactly as they appeared. It is the catch-up lane: the day you missed, the day a friend keeps quoting, the nine-word set you skipped because it looked long.
Archive solves are practice, not currency — they do not extend the streak. What they do sharpen is skill: past boards are real, shared dailies, so they are the most honest practice sets available.
What carries over between modes
Your progress on any individual board — letters typed, hints used, solved state — is saved in your browser as you play, whatever the mode, so leaving and returning picks up where you left off. Your best finish time is tracked per word length across every mode, and the win screen always reports your time and hint count.
Clearing browser data resets all of it; an optional sign-in syncs your streak and stats so they follow you between devices. If you are choosing where to spend ten minutes: daily for the streak, unlimited for volume, the library for deliberate practice, the archive for the days you missed.
New to the game itself? Start with how to play, sharpen up with the strategy guide, or read what keysmash means.
Play today's daily Play unlimited Browse the library Open the archive