What is 4 x 3?
4 x 3 is a daily word-grouping puzzle where nine tiles contain four categories of three words each, but one word—the hub—belongs to all four categories simultaneously. Every correct group is two category words plus that shared hub word, so the board cannot be divided into four separate sets. Three mistakes end the game.
How to play
- Tap three tiles and press Submit. A valid group requires two category words plus the hub word.
- Clear all four categories before making three mistakes. Use Shuffle to rearrange remaining tiles or Deselect to drop your current selection.
Why the hub changes everything
Because the hub appears in every group, the puzzle stays unsolved until the final tile. Any trio that shares no word with your first solved group is mathematically impossible. This structural constraint makes 4 x 3 harder than standard grouping puzzles, where correct answers cleanly separate the board into distinct sets.
Reading the feedback
Each mistake removes one of three dots in the Mistakes row. Correct groups display a category color—blue, green, yellow, or purple—with the category name. The scoring sheet tracks your performance: every win starts at 100 points, mistakes cost 15 points (or 30 when only two groups remain), and bonuses range from Blue First (+5) to Hub First (+20) to Reverse Rainbow and Sub-90s (+30 each), plus one point per day of your current streak.
Modes
Daily puzzle: The scheduled board for each calendar date. Only this mode feeds your streak. Past dates remain playable from the Archive.
Community puzzles: Boards created by other players, accessed through the community puzzles link.
Strategy tips
Put the tile you think is the hub first in all four guesses to earn 20 points. Put it last every time and you trigger RULE BREAKER, which sets your score to -100 and removes your streak bonus.
Test uncertain ideas while three or four groups are still open. Each mistake costs 15 points then, rising to 30 points when only two groups remain.
A finish under 90 seconds earns 30 points, matching the highest individual bonus. If the hub is obvious, submit instead of second-guessing the final pair.
Once you solve a group, eliminate any trio that leaves out one of its words. The hub must appear in every answer.
Base score is 100 points per win. Bonuses include Blue First (+5), Hub First (+20), Reverse Rainbow (+30), Sub-90s (+30), and streak days (+1 per day). Mistakes subtract 15 or 30 depending on remaining groups. RULE BREAKER penalizes players who hide the hub last in every guess by resetting the score to -100.