Four Groups guide: rules and tips

The rules below come from this app's code. Every puzzle and every group list was made for this app.

What is this puzzle

Sixteen words are mixed together. Hidden inside are four groups of four words each.

Words in a group share a meaning or a spelling pattern. Your job is to spot it.

A new puzzle appears every day. All puzzles are original.

Pick four words and submit. If all four belong together, the group shows its color and locks at the top.

If not, you lose one of your four chances. When they run out, the game ends and the remaining groups are revealed.

If three of your four words belong together, you see One away. That guess still costs a chance.

Submitting the same four words again costs nothing and is not judged twice.

The puzzle number follows the date. October 12, 2026 is #1, and the number goes up by one each day.

The day changes at midnight on your device. Korean and English puzzles are different sets.

When the puzzles run out, the set starts over from the first one.

Colors run yellow, green, blue, purple by difficulty. Solved groups also print the difficulty name, so color is never the only cue.

The starting order is fixed per puzzle, so everyone sees the same board. Shuffle only changes the order on your device.

Fact groups use closed lists that come with a source. The source link appears once you finish.

Wordplay groups use rules like first letters, last letters or a hidden string. The rule is in the group title.

Every puzzle is checked so that its sixteen words are distinct and no word fits two groups under the known lists or letter rules.

Finishing today's puzzle raises your streak, whether you win or lose. It shows as a number only and stays on this device.

The archive is free. Archive puzzles do not count toward the streak. Play again restarts the same puzzle.

Progress is kept only in your device's storage. Clear it and you start fresh.

Start with the group you are surest about. Check that removing one word would not fit better, then submit.

If five words seem to fit one group, one of them belongs elsewhere. Find which one fits another group.

Clear the easy group first. With fewer words left, the harder ones stand out.

Purple is usually wordplay. Set the meanings aside and look at spelling. Count words with the same start, ending or hidden string.

Fact groups come from fixed lists, like the planets. Recall the list and the four fall out.

After One away, change exactly one of the four. Compare each word with the leftover words to choose which.

Shuffle never changes any answer. Use it when the layout locks your thinking.

With one chance left, take your time. There is no timer.

If no group shows up, read the words aloud. Spelling patterns are easier to hear.

When the game ends, every group title is shown. Learn the rule and use it next time.

You can share the result as an emoji grid. The grid has no answers, so it spoils nothing.