Free Games How to play
Sixteen words are laid out in front of you. They split into four groups of four, and each group shares a connection that is not written down. Your job is to work out what the connections are.
Tap four words you think belong together, then press Check these four. If they do, the group moves to the top with its connection spelled out in plain words. Find all four and you have finished the puzzle.
Two rules I left out on purpose
Games in this style usually end the puzzle after four wrong guesses, and usually give you exactly one puzzle a day. Both of those exist to build a streak habit, and both get in the way of enjoying a puzzle.
So here there is no limit on guesses, and nothing is taken away for trying a combination and seeing what happens. There is also no daily lock. Press “New puzzle” whenever you like.
Feedback and hints
When four words you chose are nearly right, you will be told “three of those four do belong together”. That is usually enough to crack a group: keep three, swap one, try again.
The Hint button helps in stages rather than spoiling it. Press it once and it names one of the connections still to find. Press again and it highlights two words that belong to it. Press a third time and it shows you all four.
Tips
- Start with the group you are sure of. Every group you remove makes the rest easier to see.
- Watch for words that fit two things. A word that seems to belong in two groups almost always belongs to the trickier one.
- Shuffle when you are stuck. Seeing the same sixteen words in a new arrangement helps.
- Guess freely. There is no penalty here, so trying a combination just to see what comes back is a fair tactic.
More word games
Word Search, Mini Crossword and Word Scramble are also word games, and there are more on the word games page.
