Categories

CATEGORIES

Categories — Wordle English

Play the categories letter game online, solo: one letter, five categories, sixty seconds. A fair judge rules every answer; rare answers score double.

1.2M+
Players
18.6M+
Guesses
90+
Languages
38
Game Modes

How to Play Categories

Categories is the letter game a lot of families play on paper — Name Place Animal Thing, Stop, Stadt Land Fluss, Tutti Frutti, Petit Bac — played alone against the clock and scored by a fair judge. One letter a day, five categories, sixty seconds. Answers that start with the letter and fit the category score; an answer few other players found scores double.

How Categories works

Every day there is one letter and five categories, the same for every player. Press Go and a sixty-second clock starts: find an answer for each category that starts with the letter.

At the buzzer the letter is checked by the game, and a judging model rules on whether each answer fits its category. It is generous by design: an answer is thrown out only when the judge is confident it does not fit; a borderline one counts as doubtful, for half a point.

A valid answer scores one point. A rare answer — one only a few percent of today's players found — scores two. The best round is five rare answers: ten points.

Tips & Strategy

1
Skip, don't stall

Stuck on one category? Move on and come back — every other answer is worth the same point.

2
Go rare

The obvious answer scores 1. The one nobody else thought of scores 2.

3
Articles don't count

"The Beatles" starts with B: a leading "the", "a" or "an" is ignored.

4
One answer per box

If you type several answers in one box, only the first counts.

5
Think wide

"A city" can be any city in the world; "a food" can be a dish, a fruit or a snack. The judge accepts anything that truly fits.

More Game Modes

Daily Puzzle

One word per day. 6 guesses. The classic.

Dordle

2 boards, 1 keyboard, 7 guesses.

Quordle

4 boards, 1 keyboard, 9 guesses.

Octordle

8 boards, 1 keyboard, 13 guesses.

Sedecordle

16 boards, 1 keyboard, 21 guesses.

Duotrigordle

32 boards, 1 keyboard, 37 guesses.

Speed Streak

Race the clock. Solve as many words as you can before time runs out.

Semantic Explorer

Navigate meaning space. 30 guesses.

Globle

Find the mystery country. 6 guesses on a paper globe.

Mathle

Guess the daily math equation in 6 tries.

Spelling Bee

Find every word hidden in seven letters. New puzzle daily.

Waffle

Swap the 21 tiles so every row and column spells a word. 15 swaps, par 10.

Strands

Trace hidden theme words on a 6×8 grid. New puzzle daily.

Squaredle

Trace adjacent letters to find every word in the grid.

Queens

Crown each region — one queen per row, column, and colored area.

Chessle

A chess puzzle a day. Drag your moves, submit when ready, learn from the colours.

Quartets

Sixteen words, four hidden groups. Find what connects them.

Binary

Fill a 6x6 grid with suns and moons — balanced lines, never three in a row.

Deduction

Read the clues, rule out the impossible, find the only grid that fits.

Dominoes

Lay every domino so each outlined region satisfies its rule.

Shikaku

Split the 6x6 grid into rectangles — one clue in each, matching its shape and size.

Word Path

Trace four hidden words through a 5x5 grid

Trace

Draw one line through every cell — numbers in order, walls in the way.

Word Ladder

Turn one word into another, changing a single letter at a time.

Mini Sudoku

Fill a 6x6 grid so every row, column and 2x3 box holds 1 to 6 once.

Mini Crossword

A five by five crossword in your own language, every day.

Unscramble

The day’s letters, jumbled. Put the word back together in six tries.

Box Words

Spell your way around the box and use all twelve letters.

Flagle

Name the country from its flag. 6 guesses, one tile at a time.

Travle

Name the countries that link two places by land.

Outline

Name the country from its shape alone. 6 guesses.

Yes or No

A secret thing. Ask twenty yes-or-no questions and name it.

Read My Mind

Think of anything. It asks up to twenty questions and tries to name it.

Clue Me

You give the clues, the judge guesses. Lead it to your eight cards.

Survey Says

Guess what the crowd answered. Three strikes.

Scale

A spectrum and a target: name something that sits right there.

Play in 90+ Languages

Every language is free. No account needed.

Browse all 90+ languages

Why Wordle Global

90+ Languages

From Arabic to Yoruba. The largest multilingual Wordle.

Word Definitions

Learn the meaning of every word after you play. Expand your vocabulary.

Unique Word Art

Every word comes with a custom illustration. Collect them all.

Dark Mode & Themes

Light, dark, and high-contrast modes for comfortable play.

Works Everywhere

PWA — install on any device. Works offline. No download needed.

Free Forever

No account required. No paywall. Just play.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Categories game?
Categories is a free online letter game: one letter, five categories and sixty seconds to name something for each category that starts with the letter. It is the game played on paper as Name Place Animal Thing, Stop, Stadt Land Fluss or Petit Bac — here for one player, with a judge.
How do I play Categories?
Press Go: a letter is drawn and a sixty-second clock starts. Type one answer for each of the five categories — every answer must start with the letter. Press the buzzer when you are done, or let the clock run out.
Is this like Scattergories?
Yes, it is the same letter-and-categories game as Scattergories and the paper classics. The difference is that you play alone and a judge rules on every answer at the buzzer, so there is no arguing over what counts.
Can I play Categories alone?
Yes, Categories is made for one player. You need no group and no scorekeeper: the judge checks every answer, and rare answers are scored against everyone who played the same letter that day.
Who decides whether an answer counts?
The game checks the starting letter itself, and a judging model rules on whether the answer fits the category. It is generous: an answer is only thrown out when the judge is confident it does not fit, and small spelling mistakes are fine. If you type several answers in one box, the first one counts.
How does scoring work?
A valid answer scores 1 point, a rare answer — one only a few percent of today's players gave — scores 2, and a doubtful answer counts for half a point. The best possible round is five rare answers: ten points. Rare scoring starts once enough players have played that day.
Do articles and accents count for the letter?
No, leading articles such as "the" are ignored and accents are folded, so the letter rule checks the word that matters: "The Beatles" starts with B.
Is there a new letter every day?
Yes, there is one letter and five categories a day, the same for every player, free and with no sign-up. Categories Unlimited deals a new letter and new categories whenever you want another round.

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