The rules
- Each day there is one secret word. Guess it.
- Every guess gets a rank by meaning: #1 is the secret word, #2 is the closest word to it, and so on.
- The words come from a list of common English words. A guess that is not in the list does not count.
- Related forms are separate words: a plural such as “dogs” can rank very close to “dog”.
- Your guesses are listed from the best rank to the worst. Green is very close (rank 300 or better), yellow is near (up to 1,000).
- If you give up, you see the secret word and its closest words.
How to play
- Type with the keyboard under the box or with your own keyboard.
- Submit: Enter or the Enter button.
- Erase: Backspace or the ⌫ button deletes the last letter.
- Hint: the Hint button gives you a closer word.
- Give up: press Give up, then press it again to confirm.
- There is no undo: a guess stays in your list.
Your progress is saved automatically in your browser. You can close the page and come back later.
Difficulty levels
The level comes from how common the secret word is.
| Level | The secret word |
|---|---|
| Easy | An everyday word |
| Medium | A common word |
| Hard | A less common word |
| Expert | A rarer word that an educated adult knows |
Techniques
Start broad
Begin with a few very different words: a thing, an action, a feeling, a place. The best rank tells you which area of meaning to explore.
Follow the best rank
Look at your best guesses and think of words that are related to all of them. Each better rank narrows the area.
Change the angle
When you are stuck, try a word from another side of the same topic: where it is, what it does, how it feels, who uses it.
Try related forms
When a word ranks very close, try its other forms and its close partners: a plural, a verb from the noun, a word that often goes with it.
Hints
Each press of Hint helps more: first a word at about half your best rank, then a word at about a quarter of it, and last the secret word itself.
Tips
- Do not be afraid of far ranks. A rank of ~20,000 still tells you where the word is not.
- Think of how words are used. Words that appear in the same sentences rank close, even opposites.
- Watch the colors. Green and yellow rows show you are in the right area.
FAQ
- Where do the ranks come from?
- From word vectors: a computer model that learned from a very large amount of web text which words appear in similar places. Words used in similar ways get close ranks. All words are ranked against the secret word before the game starts.
- Why is my word not accepted?
- A guess must be a word from the game's list of common English words, with 3 to 12 letters. Names, abbreviations, very rare words and words with spaces or hyphens are not in the list.
- Why does a rank look odd?
- The ranks come from how words are used in text, not from a dictionary. So a word that often appears near the secret word can rank close even if its meaning is different, and an opposite can rank close too (hot and cold appear in the same places).
- What does a ~ before a rank mean?
- The 1,000 closest words have an exact rank, like #12. Words further away show a rounded rank, like ~4,300.
- Can I share my result?
- Yes. In the panel at the end of the game, press Share result. You get the number of guesses and how many were close, near and far, without the words.
- Do I need an account to play?
- No. You play right in your browser, with no sign-up and no cookies. Your progress is saved in your browser.