What is Motchus?
Motchus is a daily French word game that draws from standard French, Marseillais, and Provencal vocabularies. It runs entirely in French—the target word, the AZERTY keyboard, and the definitions are all in French. The site calls itself "Le jeu en VO marseillaise" and describes each daily answer as a word from Marseillais and Provencal speech or one particularly used in Marseille. You get six attempts at one word per day, which changes at midnight Marseille time and remains identical for all players. The standard lexicon comes from Grammalecte, while regional words come from linguist Médéric Gasquet-Cyrus. Denis Beaubiat writes and hosts the code. Motchus is openly inspired by Sutom, so the red, yellow, and blue grid works the same way, but the word list and post-game definition are its own.
How to play Motchus
- Open the word of the day. It changes at midnight and is the same for everyone.
- Enter a guess with the on-screen AZERTY keyboard or your own. With words of six letters or more, the first letter is already filled in.
- Press the return key to submit it. If the word is not in the Motchus dictionary, it will be rejected with a message and will not count as an attempt.
- Use the color feedback to work out where the letters belong.
- On days when the authors offer an extra clue, press the lightbulb key.
- Solve the word in six attempts or fewer, then read its definition and copy the emoji grid to share.
Reading the feedback
Each accepted guess reveals one letter. A red box marks a letter in the word and in the correct position. Yellow means the letter is in the word but in the wrong position. Blue means the letter is not in the word. The on-screen keyboard uses the same colors.
Words that are too short or not in the dictionary are rejected without using a guess. If you win, the game responds “Aïoli” and shows the number of guesses. If you miss on the sixth attempt, it reveals the word. The definition appears afterward.
Motchus is for French readers with an ear for Marseille, and for anyone who enjoys collecting one regional word a day. The definition revealed after the final guess is part of the reward. Each session takes a few minutes and allows up to six attempts.
The game is entirely in French. It has no streaks, statistics, or browsable archive: only today’s word, yesterday’s word with its definition, and one board from 51 days ago.
Modes
Motchus offers two boards. Mot du jour is one word per day, changing at midnight and identical for all players. Motchus 51 is a second board linked from the Liens panel once the daily word is settled. It replays the Motchus from fifty-one days earlier under the same six-attempt rules.
Tips for a stronger guess
Do not restrict yourself to standard French. The page states plainly that words from Marseillais and Provencal are accepted, and on some days the answer lives in regional vocabulary.
If you already play Sutom, the grid will feel identical and the dictionary will not. Coming in with the same reflexes and a wider word list is the entire adjustment.
From six letters up the opening letter is given, so spend the first guess on the other positions rather than on an initial already sitting on the board.
Watch the banner above the grid before the first guess. It warns when the answer is hyphenated, an expression in several words, or a word carrying an apostrophe, and the keyboard grows the matching key.
Read "Le motchus d'hier" under the grid, the previous day's word with its definition. The same vocabulary comes back.
Popular questions
How many attempts do I get?
Six, for one word per day.
Can I use regional words?
Yes. The page says you may propose standard French words and also words from Marseillais and Provencal speech.
Do I need an account?
No. The game runs in the browser with no sign-up and no payment. The browser keeps the day's grid on the device it was played on.
Is it based on Sutom?
It says so itself. Motchus is inspired by Sutom. The grid and the six attempts are the same; the dictionary is not.
Can I replay older words?
One link, Motchus 51, replays the word from fifty-one days back. There is no full archive.
Who makes it?
Médéric Gasquet-Cyrus wrote the dictionary and definitions. Denis Beaubiat handles the programming and hosting.