About the Words pack
The Words pack turns your vocabulary into a rare-answer game. Prompts ask for things like a word that means happy, a science ending in -ology, a poetic form, a punctuation mark or a word that imitates a sound. Every word on the list is accepted, but the common ones keep you near the surface and the unusual ones take you down into the deep.
Rarity works a little differently here. For most prompts in RareGuess, rarity comes from how often each answer's Wikipedia article is read. Many word prompts have answers that are not Wikipedia articles at all, so for those we use how often the word appears in everyday written English instead. Either way, the ranking is done inside each prompt, so a word only has to be rarer than the other right answers to that prompt.
How a Words dive works
Each dive is 7 prompts from this pack. A prompt shows for 3 seconds, then you have 25 seconds to type an answer. A wrong answer is simply refused, so you can try again until the time runs out. A right answer scores 10 to 100 points depending on how rare it is, so a full dive is worth up to 700. The pack has 50 prompts, enough for 7 dives before any prompt repeats. Dives are numbered: use the list on the start screen to pick dive #1, jump ahead or replay one you have done.
Example prompts from this pack
- Name a letter of the Greek alphabet. Delta is one of the first answers people give (10 points); Mu is much rarer (60 points).
- Name a science ending in -ology. Psychology is one of the first answers people give (10 points); Astrobiology is much rarer (60 points).
- Name a poetic form. Haiku is one of the first answers people give (10 points); Quatrain is much rarer (60 points).
How to find rare answers in word trivia
- Reach for register. Formal, old-fashioned or literary words are much rarer than everyday ones: "jubilant" beats "glad".
- Think of borrowed words. English is full of words taken from other languages, and they are often the least used.
- For rhymes and spellings, run through the alphabet in your head instead of waiting for a word to appear.
- If you are unsure of a spelling, type it anyway: near misses are matched and shown to you before they count.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Words pack free?
Yes. Every Words dive is free, with no sign-up and no limit on how many you play. Signing in is optional and only keeps your scores on every device.
How many dives are in the Words pack?
The pack has 50 prompts, which make 7 dives of 7 with no prompt repeated. After that the numbers keep going and the prompts come back in a new order. Dive numbers are fixed, so dive #2 is the same for everyone.
How is the Words pack different from the Daily 7?
The Daily 7 mixes topics; every prompt in this pack is about words and language. The Daily 7 is one fixed set a day, the same for everyone and counted toward your streak. Pack dives can be played at any time, as many as you like, and do not change your daily streak.
Can I replay a dive?
Yes. Pick any dive number in the list on the start screen to play it again or to skip ahead. Your best score for each dive is kept in your browser.
How do you decide which answers are rare?
Within each prompt, the accepted answers are ranked from most to least common, mostly by how often each answer's English Wikipedia article was read over the past twelve months (word prompts use how often the word appears in written English). The rarer an answer, the deeper you dive: 10, 30, 60 or 85 points, and 100 for one or two hand-picked answers per prompt.
More questions? See the Daily Game Arcade FAQ.
Other themed packs
- Geography — Countries, capitals, rivers, islands and more.
- Movies & cartoons — Films, studios, directors and famous characters.
- Sports — Teams, events, venues and games.
- Music — Songs, albums, composers, instruments and styles.
Or play today's Daily 7, unlimited mixed dives or multiplayer.