Notes on word games, puzzle design, and the making of WIN: A Word Game.
Wordle gives you a letter problem. Scattergories gives you a category problem. They feel similar and they use completely different parts of your head.
8 October 2026 · WordsName an animal starting with K. It is one of the oldest game formats there is, it needs no equipment, and it survives because the constraint is perfectly tuned.
8 October 2026 · GuidesWordle made the one-puzzle-a-day format mainstream. If you have finished today's and want something else, here is what the format looks like elsewhere.
8 October 2026 · GuidesSix letters account for almost every moment of being stuck in a word game. Why they are hard, and the words worth keeping ready for each one.
8 October 2026 · WordsGoing blank under time pressure is a retrieval failure, not a vocabulary failure. Four techniques that get the word out of your head and onto the screen.
8 October 2026 · WordsThe hard part is never finding a word game. It is finding one your group will still be playing in three weeks. What separates the two.
8 October 2026 · GuidesMost palindrome lists are padded with words nobody uses. This one is sorted by length and limited to palindromes you could actually produce under pressure.
8 October 2026 · WordsMost party games fall apart on a call. The ones that survive share three properties, and knowing them saves you a bad evening.
8 October 2026 · GuidesBoth are multiplayer and both use the same core loop, but they reward almost opposite instincts. Here is what to do differently in each.
8 October 2026 · StrategyThe Grand Category is visible from the lobby, and almost nobody uses it before round one. Here is what to do with those thirty seconds.
8 October 2026 · StrategySudden Death does not get harder because the categories get harder. It gets harder because you keep losing letters. Here is how the drain works and how to play around it.
8 October 2026 · StrategyA WIN card claims any letter you want. That makes it tempting to spend the moment you are stuck, which is almost always too early.
8 October 2026 · StrategyWinning a letter is easy. Winning the right letter is the game. A practical way to decide what your rack actually needs before you commit to a round.
8 October 2026 · StrategyWhat to look for if you want the Scattergories feeling without the box, the paper, or everyone being in the same room.
8 October 2026 · GuidesVowel-heavy words are hard to recall on demand and easy to recognise once you know the patterns they come in. A practical list, sorted by the shape that produces them.
8 October 2026 · WordsPlay WIN wherever you are
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