What is ItWord?
ItWord is a free daily word game where rare words score big. Each day a new six-letter "ItWord" is set, and you chain together six words built from its letters. Every word you enter is scored on how uncommon it is, so the rarest valid choices earn the most points rather than the quickest guess. One puzzle a day, the same for everyone, resetting at midnight UK time.
How to play ItWord
- Open itword.io and start today's puzzle. You do not need an account to play.
- Enter a valid word for each round, using the given start and end letters.
- Check the tile colour after each word, which shows how rare your choice is.
- Progress through six rounds, with the word length growing by one letter each time.
- Finish all six words, then compare your score on the daily leaderboard.
How the rounds work
Each round fixes a word length and a pair of start and end letters. The first round asks for a three-letter word, and the length grows by one each round up to eight letters in the final round. The start and end letters are neighbouring letters of the ItWord: the first round uses its first and second letters, and the final round closes the loop by starting with the last letter and ending with the first.
For example, if the ItWord were PLANET, the rounds could be answered as PAL, LAVA, APRON, NATURE, ELEMENT, and TEARDROP. Any valid word that fits the letters and length works, but the rarer it is, the more points it scores.
Scoring
Every valid word falls into one of five rarity bands: Very Common, Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Very Rare. The highest possible score for a word is 17 points, awarded to the rarest band available in that round. Scoring steps down by band, with 1 point as the lowest score for a valid word. The tile colour tells you which band you reached. If the word text turns white, it comes from the rarest available band and earns maximum points. A gold star appears when a word lands in the Very Rare band, though not every round contains one.
What costs you points
You lose 1 point for each invalid word, including spelling mistakes, capped at 3 points lost per round. Time penalties also apply: taking longer than 3 minutes to finish a round costs 1 point for every full minute after that, up to a maximum of 5 per round. Your total score runs from 0 to 100, and a perfect score is possible every day. The trick is not to enter the first word that comes to mind, but not to take too long or guess too many invalid words either.
How word rarity is decided
The rarity bands reflect how often a word is used in everyday English, based on a large mix of books, subtitles, websites, and social media. Each band is roughly ten times rarer than the one below it. Once validated, the tile colour indicates which band you reached. A broad vocabulary is rewarded over a lucky guess, so a rare but valid word beats a common one every time.
Modes and extras
- Daily game: One ItWord per day, the same for everyone, live at midnight UK time.
- Archive: Past games are stored with their answers, definitions, and leaderboards, so you can browse earlier days.
- Leaderboard: A free account adds your results to the daily leaderboard and gives you a profile with your streak, total games, best and average score, best and favourite words, and game history.
- App install: You can install ItWord as an app without an app store by choosing Install app from the menu, or on iPhone and iPad by tapping Share and then Add to Home Screen.
Tips for a better score
Spend your early words on uncommon choices rather than the first valid word that comes to mind, since the rarest band in a round is where the points are. Balance rarity against speed, because slow rounds and invalid guesses both cost points. If a word earns a gold star, it has landed in the Very Rare band.
Common questions
Do I need an account?
No, anyone can play. An account only adds leaderboard ranking and a stats profile.
Is ItWord like Wordle?
A little. There is one new puzzle a day and everyone plays the same one, but instead of guessing a single hidden word you fill in six words of growing length from given start and end letters. It rewards a broad vocabulary more than a lucky guess.
When does a new ItWord appear?
A new ItWord goes live every day at midnight UK time.