How Guess the Word Scoring Works

Guess the Word has two different scores.

The first score is semantic closeness. Every guess receives a percentage based on how close its meaning is to the secret word. A stronger guess raises your best semantic score, and that percentage is what helps you understand whether you are getting warmer or colder.

The second score is the leaderboard score. This is the score that starts near 10,000 and counts down while you play.

Semantic score

Each submitted word is compared with the secret word by meaning. The game then shows a closeness percentage.

For example:

• a distant guess may show a low percentage
• a related guess may move much higher
• the winning guess solves the puzzle

This score is useful for gameplay, but it is not the same thing as the leaderboard score.

Leaderboard score

The leaderboard score rewards solving quickly, using fewer guesses, and avoiding hints.

The formula is:

score = 10000 - guesses * 100 - seconds * 10 - hints * 500

The score never goes below zero.

What lowers your score?

• Each guess costs 100 points.
• Each second costs 10 points.
• Each hint costs 500 points.

That means a fast solve with few guesses can stay close to 10,000, while a slower game with many hints will finish much lower.

Example

If you solve in 4 guesses, take 35 seconds, and use 1 hint:

10000 - 4 * 100 - 35 * 10 - 1 * 500 = 8750

Your final leaderboard score would be 8,750.

Strategy

The best way to protect your score is to make broad, meaningful guesses early, then narrow in once the semantic feedback improves.

Hints can help when you are stuck, but they are expensive. Use them when the time saved is likely worth more than the 500-point penalty.

You can play it here: Guess the Word.