How to play
Enter any genuine five-letter word, on screen or on your own keys, and confirm it. Every tile of the guess then changes. A solid square: this letter sits in the answer exactly here. A round tile: the answer has this letter, only in another spot. A faded tile: the answer lacks it — or has fewer copies than you typed. The marks are shapes as well as colours, so they read clearly in any light and for colour-blind players.
The letter keys below the rows remember the strongest mark each letter has earned so far, so a glance at them tells you what is settled and what is still open. Guesses have to be words from the list — five random vowels are refused — which keeps each of the six tries a real piece of evidence.
Strategy that works
- Open with five different, common letters. Each room page suggests a strong first guess for its language and floor; a good opener rules in or out a lot at once.
- Spend try two on unused letters. Placing what you already know can wait; on floor 1 and 2 five letters you have not tried usually teach you more than a cautious repeat.
- Read the round tiles twice. Each confirms a letter and, at the same time, crosses one position off its list. Marked round in two different spots, a letter has only three places left.
- Remember double letters. If the marks seem to run out of letters, the answer may repeat one; words such as SPOON or LEVEL catch people every day.
- On the top floor, plan for the strict rule. Every square and round tile you reveal must be used in later guesses, so a careless second guess can box you in.
The three floors
What changes from floor to floor is how wide the net is cast. On floor 1 the answer is picked among the most frequent five-letter words, roughly a third of them; floor 2 widens that to about two thirds; floor 3 allows every common five-letter word and adds the strict rule. Whatever the floor, the answer is a dictionary headword rather than an inflected form, though any listed word may be used as a guess.
Questions
Is this the same as other daily guessing games?
The idea of guessing a word from coloured clues is old and common. Gridword House has its own word lists in four languages, its own marks and three levels, and every room is a different puzzle.
Why are Hungarian letters like SZ counted as two?
On the tiles each written character is one letter, so SZ, GY or CS take two squares, while Á, Ö and Ő are letters of their own.
Can the answer be a plural?
No. Answers are dictionary base forms. Plurals and other forms are accepted as guesses when they are in the list.
What happens after six wrong tries?
The word is shown and the room stays open, so you can see what tripped you up. The next room is one tap away.
Can I undo a guess?
No — every guess counts, as in any guessing game. You can delete letters before you press Enter.