Guide
How to Play Contexto
Contexto is a free daily word puzzle game. There is a secret word — your job is to find it by guessing words that are ranked by how close they are in meaning. No letter clues, no spelling hints, no guess limit. Just pure semantic navigation — making it one of the most unique word guessing games available online.
Step-by-step
Type any word
Start with any word you like. Common nouns are a good opening move since they cover many concepts. There are no wrong first guesses — every guess gives you information.
Read the rank
After each guess you see a rank from 1 to ~20,000. Rank 1 is the secret word. Rank 50 is very close. Rank 5,000 is in the ballpark. Rank 15,000+ is far away. Lower is always better.
Follow the trail
Your guesses sort automatically from closest to furthest. Watch for clusters — if several guesses in the same semantic area all rank under 200, the answer is somewhere in that neighbourhood of meaning.
Home in on rank 1
Use your best-ranked guess as a springboard. Think: what words mean roughly the same thing? What broader category does it belong to? Synonyms, related concepts, and collocations often rank much better than spelling-similar words.
Use hints wisely
Four hint types are available: Category (what type of thing the secret word is), Related word (a semantically close word), Word length, and First letter. Use them if you're stuck — they don't disqualify you.
Understanding the rank colours
Hints explained
Category hint
Reveals the broad category the secret word belongs to (e.g., "Animals", "Emotions", "Verbs of movement").
Related word hint
Reveals a word that is semantically close to the answer — not a synonym, but a neighbour in meaning space.
Word length hint
Tells you how many letters the secret word has. Useful for ruling out entire word classes.
First letter hint
Reveals the first letter of the secret word. A powerful hint — use it when all else fails.
Tips and strategies
Start broad, then narrow
Open with high-frequency nouns like "house", "time", "water", or "person". These cover large areas of meaning and their ranks tell you which semantic region to explore.
Think about word categories, not spelling
If "doctor" ranks 80, try other medical words: "nurse", "hospital", "medicine", "patient". Don't try "rector" because it looks similar — that's a Wordle instinct, not a Contexto one.
The rank gap tells you how close you are
If your best guess jumped from rank 3,000 to rank 150 with one guess, you've found a fruitful area. If the gap between your top guesses is small (e.g., 1, 3, 5), you're very close and should try precise synonyms.
Plurals and verb forms count as separate words
"Run" and "runs" are treated as the same answer but different guesses. Try both forms of words you think are close — one might rank significantly better than the other.
Don't ignore abstract words
The secret word could be a verb, adjective, or abstract noun — not just a concrete object. If concrete nouns aren't working, try verbs ("flow", "build", "move") or adjectives ("bright", "heavy", "soft").
Contexto vs other word puzzle games
Contexto is often described as a Wordle alternative, but it plays very differently. Here is how it compares to the most popular daily word games:
| Feature | Contexto | Wordle | Quordle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clue type | Meaning rank | Letter position | Letter position |
| Guess limit | Unlimited | 6 guesses | 9 guesses |
| Word length fixed? | No | 5 letters only | 5 letters only |
| Daily puzzle | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multiplayer | Yes — rooms | No | No |
| Unlimited practice | Yes | No | No |
| Free | Yes | Yes | Yes |
If you enjoy Wordle, Quordle, or any letter-based word puzzle game, Contexto is a natural next step. It trains a completely different skill — semantic thinking — and most players find it significantly more challenging and addictive.
Ready to try it?
The best way to understand Contexto is to play it. Jump into today’s daily puzzle or practice in unlimited mode — no account required.