Frequently asked questions
When does the new word arrive?
At midnight in your local timezone. Everyone in the world gets the same word each calendar day, so your friend a few timezones ahead may meet tomorrow's word before you do — beware of spoilers in the group chat.
What counts as a valid guess?
Any English word of 5 to 10 letters from our dictionary, which is based on the tournament word lists used in competitive word games, supplemented with everyday calendar words like FEBRUARY and WEDNESDAY. Words shorter than ten letters are probes: they gather information but can't win the round.
Why wasn't my word accepted?
The usual culprits are proper nouns (names of people, places, and brands), hyphenated or multi-part words, and spellings from outside our word list. If you hit a word you believe is a genuine miss, email [email protected] — we do add words players convince us about.
How are duplicate letters scored?
Honestly and by count. If the big word has one E and your guess has two, only one E lights up — greens claim their letters first, then yellows are awarded left to right from whatever remains. If both your E's light up, the big word really does contain two.
Do probe words reveal positions?
Yes — probes line up from the left edge of the grid, so a green on a probe means the big word has that letter in exactly that position. Yellows on a probe mean the letter is somewhere in the full ten letters.
How do streaks work?
Solve the daily puzzle on consecutive calendar days and your streak grows; miss a day (or fail a puzzle) and it resets. Your streak, win rate, and guess distribution live in the stats screen behind the bar-chart icon.
Can I play more than one puzzle a day?
After finishing the daily you can play bonus words — extra practice rounds drawn from the same curated deck, up to ten per day. Bonus rounds never affect your streak or statistics, so they're a consequence-free way to sharpen your probing.
I switched phones and lost my streak. Can I get it back?
Sadly not yet. The Big Word has no accounts — by design, for privacy — so your stats live only in the browser you play in. Cross-device syncing is on our roadmap. Until then, stay loyal to one browser if your streak matters to you.
Is there a hard mode?
Not yet. If enough players ask, a mode that forces revealed clues to be reused (and maybe one that bans probes entirely for the brave) is on the list. Tell us what you'd want at [email protected].
How is the daily word chosen?
From a hand-curated list of common, satisfying 10-letter words — compounds, everyday nouns, familiar adjectives — shuffled into a fixed secret order. No obscure dictionary dust: if you miss a word, we want the reveal to make you say "of course," never "that's not a word."
Is The Big Word free?
Yes — free to play, no account required. The game is supported by advertising, and one day a premium tier may offer extras like unlimited bonus words. The daily puzzle will always be free.