How many guesses do I get?

The day's puzzle decides, and the grid shows it: one row per guess. In practice it matches the length of the word, so a six-letter code gives six rows and a seven-letter one gives seven.

How long is the hidden word?

Six or seven letters, depending on the day. The grid width tells you before you type anything.

Does a rejected guess cost me a row?

No. If the word isn't in the dictionary you are told so and nothing is used up.

What exactly does the hint do?

It reveals one letter in its correct position and keeps that square filled for the rest of the game, so your remaining guesses are shorter to type. You get one per puzzle.

What happens if I run out of guesses?

The answer is shown and that is the day over for Code Word — there is one attempt per day.

Is there a new code every day, and do I need an account?

A new word every day, the same for everyone, free and with no sign-up. Your progress is stored in your own browser, so a half-finished grid is still there if you step away.

Daily Code Word

Code Word hides a six or seven-letter word and colours in each guess you make: green for a letter in the right place, yellow for one in the wrong place. The longer answer means more to work with than a five-letter game, but the grid gives you only as many rows as the word has letters. One new code a day, and one hint that pins a letter in place for the rest of the game.

How to play Code Word

Type a guess the same length as the hidden word — six or seven letters, depending on the day — and press enter.
Green means that letter is in the word and in the right place; yellow means it is in the word but somewhere else; a grey tile means that copy of the letter isn't wanted.
The keyboard keeps the best verdict every letter has earned, so you can see at a glance what is still in play.
Guesses have to be real words, and a word the dictionary doesn't know is turned away without using up a row.
The number of rows on the grid is the number of guesses you have, and it is set by the day's puzzle — normally one row per letter.
The hint reveals one letter in its true position; that square then stays filled in on every remaining row, and you type only the letters around it.
Crack the code before the rows run out. If they do, the answer is shown and the day is over.

Turning yellows into greens

The answer is PLANET. Guess STREAM and the T, E and A come back yellow while S, R and M go grey: three letters confirmed, three eliminated, in one row. Now rearrange them — guess TALENT and the final T turns green, with A, L, E and N yellow. Notice that TALENT's first T stays grey: PLANET has only one T, so only one of your two gets coloured. From there PLANET is close to forced.

Code Word strategy

Open with a word that spreads the vowels

A six or seven-letter first guess can cover an enormous amount of the alphabet at once. Pick something with three different vowels and no repeated letters — ORNATE, SAILED or MODULAR — rather than a word with a double letter, which wastes a square telling you something you could have learned for free.

Test the ending, not the middle

Long words are far more predictable at the back than in the middle. Once you have a couple of letters, ask whether the last three or four squares are an ending: ING, ION, ERS, IES, MENT, ABLE or TION. Confirming an ending fixes several squares at once and narrows the front of the word enormously.

Read grey tiles per copy, not per letter

The colouring runs greens first and then yellows from what is left over, so if the answer holds one E and you guess two, the second one comes back grey. That grey means “no second E”, not “no E at all” — misreading it is the quickest way to eliminate a letter that is actually in the word.

Spend the hint with rows to spare

The hint locks a letter into its square for every remaining guess, so you type fewer letters and each later row carries more information. That pays off only if you still have rows to use it in — taking it on your final guess buys you almost nothing. It also skips any square your last guess already got right, so it never wastes itself on a green you earned.

Make every row earn its keep

With only as many guesses as the word has letters, a guess that cannot be the answer has to justify itself by eliminating letters. Mid-game, a word stuffed with untested consonants is often worth more than a plausible candidate that only differs from your last guess by one letter.

Frequently asked questions

How many guesses do I get?: The day's puzzle decides, and the grid shows it: one row per guess. In practice it matches the length of the word, so a six-letter code gives six rows and a seven-letter one gives seven.
How long is the hidden word?: Six or seven letters, depending on the day. The grid width tells you before you type anything.
Does a rejected guess cost me a row?: No. If the word isn't in the dictionary you are told so and nothing is used up.
What exactly does the hint do?: It reveals one letter in its correct position and keeps that square filled for the rest of the game, so your remaining guesses are shorter to type. You get one per puzzle.
What happens if I run out of guesses?: The answer is shown and that is the day over for Code Word — there is one attempt per day.
Is there a new code every day, and do I need an account?: A new word every day, the same for everyone, free and with no sign-up. Your progress is stored in your own browser, so a half-finished grid is still there if you step away.