Contexto

Contexto FAQ

How the game works, and the things people ask most often.

What is Contexto?
A daily word game. One secret word per day, unlimited guesses, and the only feedback is how close each guess is in meaning to the answer.
What do the numbers mean?
Each guess gets a rank: its position out of 70,000 words ordered by how close they are in meaning to the secret word. Rank 1 is the answer. A word ranked #10 is one of the ten closest words in the entire list; a word ranked #40,000 is unrelated.
Is the rank about spelling or meaning?
Meaning only. For the answer "ocean", the word "sea" ranks in the double digits while "occasion" ranks in the tens of thousands, even though "occasion" looks more like "ocean".
Is there a limit to how many guesses I get?
No. Guess as many times as you like until you find the word.
When does a new puzzle start?
A new puzzle goes live every day at midnight UTC. The previous puzzle stays playable in the archive forever.
Why does it say my guess isn't in the word list?
The game ranks against a fixed 70,000-word vocabulary. Proper nouns, misspellings and very rare words are excluded, so a word outside that list has no rank to report. It is not a hint that you are far away.
Do plurals and verb forms count as different words?
Yes. "Cat" and "cats" are separate entries with their own ranks, and both are usually close to each other. The answer itself is always a singular base form.
Is everyone playing the same word?
Yes. The puzzle is the same for every player worldwide on a given day, which is what makes comparing guess counts meaningful.
How are the answers chosen?
From a hand-reviewed list of common, concrete nouns. Proper nouns, misspellings, slurs and distressing subject matter are excluded from the answer list, though many of those words are still guessable so that a reasonable guess gets a real rank.
Can I play old puzzles?
Yes. Every past puzzle stays playable in the archive, along with its hints and answer.
Is Contexto the same as contexto.me?
No. This is an independent game built from scratch and is not affiliated with contexto.me or its creators. The puzzles and word lists are different.
Does my progress save?
Yes, in your browser on the device you are playing on. There is no account, so clearing your browser data clears your progress.
Is Contexto free?
Yes, completely, and there is no account to make. The game is funded by advertising rather than by charging for puzzles or hints.
Do I need to download an app?
No. It runs in any browser — phone, laptop or a managed school Chromebook — with nothing to install.
Is there a Spanish, Portuguese or French version of Contexto?
Yes, and each one is a separate game rather than a translation. Every language has its own vocabulary and its own answer each day, because the words closest in meaning to a Spanish word are not the translations of the words closest to its English equivalent. Use the language links in the footer.
Can I play more than one puzzle a day?
Yes. The archive keeps every past puzzle playable, and unlimited mode is an endless run of practice words drawn from a pool held back from the daily schedule. Neither affects your streak.
Where do I find today's answer or a hint?
Both have their own pages, linked in the footer. Hints reveal a word closer than your best guess so far rather than giving the answer away, so you can get unstuck without spoiling it.