Hunch is a five-letter word game with no letter-color feedback. Every tile stays midnight blue from the first guess to the last. Instead, each row ends with two numbered tiles, one green and one amber, which provide the only clues. You solve the puzzle by comparing those counts across attempts.

  1. Open hunch.game and begin with the tutorial. It shows “TUTORIAL” at the top and a dropdown menu with four star-rated entries.
  2. Enter a five-letter word using the on-screen QWERTY keyboard.
  3. Submit it. The row fills with blue letter tiles, which stay the same color.
  4. Read the two numbers at the end of the row: one appears on a green tile and the other on an amber tile.
  5. Compare the counts from each row to work out which letters are in the target word and where they belong.
  6. Keep guessing until you solve the word or run out of attempts.

The tutorial has playback controls, including play, skip, 2× speed, and a step counter, so you can move backward or forward through the demonstration.

No letters change color. The green and amber tiles at the end of each row show counts. As you narrow your guesses, the green count usually rises while the amber count moves toward zero. The tutorial includes a section called “Explain the numbers,” which defines what each count measures. The keyboard keys have no markings, so you need to remember eliminated letters or write them down.

Hunch has several modes beyond the daily puzzle:

  • Classic: one word per day.
  • Cascade: multiple words in one daily session.
  • Doubles: a third named mode alongside Classic and Cascade.
  • Practice: unlimited play with separate progress tracking.

Removing letter-by-letter color coding forces logical reasoning over visual pattern matching. You cannot rely on green and yellow squares to guide your next guess. Instead, you must track counts, compare rows, and deduce letter positions through elimination. The constraint feels uncomfortable at first but rewards methodical thinking.

The tutorial design also stands out. It rewinds, skips, and speeds up. If only the two numbers confuse you, the panel offers a direct entry—"Explain the numbers"—and a quick exit so you can start playing immediately.

Tips for a more careful approach

  • The step counter at the bottom right tracks tutorial progress, not your remaining guesses. Do not treat it as a move limit.
  • If the full tour feels slow, use the dedicated "Explain the numbers" entry or select "Got it. Let me try." to jump straight into play.
  • Use the 2x button to speed up the demonstration and the skip buttons to revisit any step you missed.
  • Keep a mental or written list of eliminated letters. The keyboard does not mark which keys you have already ruled out.
  • Start with the one-star entry in the dropdown menu before tackling higher difficulty levels.