How do you play What Word?+
Guess the hidden five-letter word in six tries. Type a word and press Enter, then read the colors: green means right letter and right spot, yellow means right letter wrong spot, and gray means the letter is not in the word. Use the clues to solve it.
What do the colors mean?+
Green marks a letter that is correct and in the correct position. Yellow marks a letter that appears in the word but in a different position. Gray marks a letter that is not in the word at all. These three colors are your only clues to the answer.
How many guesses do I get?+
You get six guesses per game. Each guess must be a valid five-letter word. The challenge is to gather enough information from the color feedback to identify the exact word before your sixth attempt runs out.
What is a good starting word?+
Strong openers use common letters and a good spread of vowels, such as CRANE, SLATE, or AUDIO paired with a consonant-heavy second guess. The goal of the first word is to reveal as many useful letters as possible, not to guess the answer outright.
Why was my guess rejected?+
A guess is rejected if it is not exactly five letters or is not in the game's word list. Try another common five-letter word. This rule keeps every guess meaningful and prevents random letter strings from wasting your attempts.
How is my score calculated?+
Your score is the number of guesses you used to solve the word, and fewer is better. Your best game — the lowest number of guesses in a win — is saved so you always have a personal record to chase.
Does my best score save?+
Yes. Your fewest-guesses win is stored locally in your browser and shown so you can try to beat it. Clearing your browser data or switching devices resets it, because the record is kept on your device rather than a server.
Can a letter appear twice?+
Yes. Some answers contain repeated letters, which is why the color logic counts letters carefully. If you guess two of a letter but the answer has only one, only one of yours will be colored and the extra will show as gray.
What happens with duplicate letters in my guess?+
The game colors duplicates based on how many times the letter actually appears in the answer. Correct-position matches are marked first, then remaining copies are marked yellow only up to the count in the answer; any extras turn gray.
Is there a new word every game?+
Yes. Each new game selects a fresh secret word at random from the word list, so you can replay as many times as you like. There is no daily limit here — start a new game whenever you want another challenge.
Can I play What Word on mobile?+
Absolutely. A full on-screen keyboard with Enter and Backspace is built in, and the tiles scale to your screen. It runs in any modern mobile browser with no download or account, and it works in both portrait and landscape.
What is the best overall strategy?+
Open with a letter-rich word, then use each result to eliminate and confirm letters. Keep greens fixed, move yellows to new spots, and never reuse grays. When multiple words fit, pick the guess that rules out the most remaining possibilities.
Should I guess the answer early if I think I know it?+
If you are confident, go for it — a fast solve gives the best score. But if several words still fit, it is often smarter to spend a guess testing new letters that split the possibilities, then solve with certainty on the next try.
What skills does What Word build?+
It sharpens vocabulary, logical deduction, and pattern recognition. Each guess is a small experiment, and interpreting the feedback trains you to reason from evidence, a skill that transfers well beyond word games.
Is What Word suitable for kids?+
Yes. It is a friendly, non-violent puzzle that reinforces spelling and deductive reasoning. Younger players can treat it as spelling practice, while the six-guess limit and scoring give older players a satisfying logic challenge.
What games are similar to What Word?+
It is inspired by the classic hidden-word deduction format popularized by Wordle and older games like Mastermind and Bulls and Cows. If you enjoy guessing with colored feedback and logical elimination, you will feel right at home.
Do I keep the on-screen keyboard colors between guesses?+
Yes. The keyboard remembers the best-known status of every letter you have tried, coloring keys green, yellow, or gray. This running summary helps you avoid reusing ruled-out letters and quickly see which letters remain untested.
Is What Word free to play?+
Yes. It runs entirely in your browser at no cost, with no account and no installation. Open the page and start guessing immediately, and your best score stays private on your own device.
