Clueword: the word game that runs Wordle backwards
Wordle hands you a hidden word and six guesses. Clueword flips the loop: the coloured rows are already printed on the board, and your job is to work out a word that could have produced them. It turns a guessing game into a small logic puzzle — read the greens, place the yellows, cross out the greys, then find a word that satisfies everything simultaneously.
How the clues work
Each clue row is a five-letter word with Wordle-style colours showing how it scores against the answer:
- Green (exact): that letter is in that position in the answer.
- Yellow (present): the letter is in the answer, but not in that position.
- Grey (absent): the letter does not appear in the answer at all (counting duplicates correctly).
Because every row is a real word with real colours, at least one answer always exists — you are never asked to solve an impossible board. Simple boards give a single row; harder boards stack three, four or five and shrink the field until only a couple of words fit.
Strategy that actually works
- Start with the greys. Crossed-out letters are free information — write the alphabet and delete them.
- Lock the greens in place. They fix both the letter and the slot.
- Treat yellows as a pair. A yellow letter must appear somewhere, just not there.
- Count duplicates. If a row is grey but shows the same letter twice, only one copy can be in the answer.
- Then guess a word, not a letter. You still have to commit to a real five-letter word that satisfies every row at once.
Daily puzzle, endless levels
One Clueword is posted every day at midnight US Eastern — the same board for every player, with a streak and a daily Top 50 leaderboard scored by tries. Finished it? Switch to Levels for an endless ladder that gets harder as you climb: more clue rows, fewer words that fit, fewer tries allowed. Your progress is saved in your browser, so you can stop at any point and pick up exactly where you left off.
Rules, strategy and today's answer
Read the full Clueword rules and strategy, or jump straight to today's Clueword hints and answer.
More free word games
Try 5-Letter Word Game, Category Groups, Word Path, Word Search or Anagram.