The daily word game
Mystery Word
A word to find in six tries. The first letter is given to you. One word a day, the same for everyone, included with membership.
The rule
You enter a word of the right length. After each try, every letter gets a verdict: a red square means the letter is in the right place, a yellow circle means it is in the word but elsewhere, and nothing at all means it is absent. Six tries to close in.
The answers are common English words, chosen and read one by one. Any common word of the right length is accepted as a guess, so you can play a word purely to test letters.
A few habits that help
- Spend the first try on vowels. A guess holding three different ones maps out the skeleton of the answer straight away.
- Think about endings. Plenty of English words end in -ING, -TION, -NESS or -MENT: testing those early usually pays better than chasing a rare letter.
- Remember letters repeat. A letter already in the right place can show up a second time somewhere else.
Sharing your grid
At the end, the grid can be shared as symbols: it shows the route you took without ever revealing the word to anyone who hasn't played yet.
The other games of the day
- The round of the day — spot the hidden mistakes in a text read aloud.
- Numbers — reach the target with six numbers.