Ducklark Games / Stepword ladders / Ladder #5
Stepword #5: Clap HANDS over HEADS
Stepword’s Saturday ladder, #5, told the story “Clap HANDS over HEADS” and asked for a climb of 4 steps. The start word was HEADS, the goal HANDS, and the date was Oct 10.
The facts for #5
- Date: Saturday, October 10, 2026
- Start word: HEADS
- Goal word: HANDS
- Par: 4 steps
- Word length: 5 letters
The 4-step climb from HEADS to HANDS
HEADS and HANDS differ in 2 of their 5 places, but par is 4, 2 more than that count. The direct route is blocked, so the climb needs 2 steps that do not fix a letter on the spot.
There is an anchor: H, D, and S stays in the first, fourth, and fifth position from start to goal. A appears in both words, though not in the same place. Count the vowels and the start word has 2, the goal 1. The game’s list has 2 different ways to climb in par.
- Letter 1: H to H (already there)
- Letter 2: E to A
- Letter 3: A to N
- Letter 4: D to D (already there)
- Letter 5: S to S (already there)
How #5 compares
6 of the 18 ladders so far have had a par of 4, counting this one.
Can I still play #5?
Only the latest seven days can be replayed, and this one has aged out. Climb today’s instead.
Answers stay in the game.
Yesterday and tomorrow of #5
- Stepword #4: Jump in a LEAF PILE (Oct 9), LEAF to PILE, par 6
- Stepword #6: Wear a SCARF with STYLE (Oct 11), SCARF to STYLE, par 4
See the whole run on the list of Stepword ladders, or learn par and hints in the Stepword guide. For trivia and mini crosswords, see the topics hub.