Guess the Thing

How to play

Six guesses to name the thing. Every miss tells you how close you were and unlocks one more clue.

  1. Pick one of the day’s three puzzles. The home screen shows the three games in play today, plus the other four which you can practise any time.
  2. Type a guess. Start typing and pick from the suggestions. Only real answers count, so you cannot waste a guess on a typo.
  3. Read the feedback. Every guess comes back with a percentage, an arrow, and a figure. The arrow points the way you need to move: north or south for places, up or down for a number.
  4. Use the clue you just unlocked. One clue opens after each wrong guess, running from broad to specific. The first tells you a continent or a category, the last all but names the answer.
  5. Finish and share. Solve it or run out at six. Either way you get the answer with a photograph, and a grid of coloured squares you can paste anywhere without spoiling it.

What the colours mean

Each guess is scored from 0 to 100 and coloured by how close it landed. Grey is cold, under 60. Pale is warm, 60 to 89. Strong is hot, 90 or more. Solid is correct.

The scale is tinted to whichever game you are playing, so a shared grid tells people which puzzle it was without naming the answer.

Feedback, game by game

GameWhat a miss tells you
Countryhow far off you are and which way to go.
Cityhow far off you are and which way to go.
Animalmatching traits and whether the answer is heavier or lighter.
Elementhow far off the atomic number is and which way to go.
Mountainhow far off the height is and which way to go.
Paintinghow many years off you are and which way to go.
Dog breedhow far its homeland is from the answer’s, and which way to go.

Clues

Six clues sit above the board, and one opens after each wrong guess. They run from broad to specific. In the country game the first is a continent and the last is the capital city, so a sixth guess is rarely a shot in the dark.

Streaks

Solving the day's puzzle extends your streak for that game. Miss a day and it resets. Practice rounds never touch it, so you can warm up as much as you like.

Back to today's puzzles