Word Rush
Guess the word before the clock eats your bonus.
How to play
Type any valid five-letter word and press Enter to lock it in. Lime tiles are letters in the right spot, gold tiles are in the word but misplaced, and gray tiles are not in the word at all. You have six guesses — solving faster and in fewer tries earns more points, with a time bonus that shrinks every second.
What is Word Rush?
Word Rush is a five-letter word guessing game with a stopwatch strapped to its back. Somewhere in the grid hides a secret English word, and you have six attempts to find it. After every guess the tiles light up with feedback: a lime tile means the letter sits in exactly the right spot, a gold tile means the letter belongs to the word but lives somewhere else, and a gray tile means the letter isn't in the word at all.
What sets Word Rush apart from a classic daily word puzzle is the scoring. Deduction alone isn't enough — every guess you save is worth a flat 100 points, and a time bonus starts at 100 and melts away one point per second. Solve it on the very first try within the bonus window and you hit the perfect 700. Take all six guesses and dawdle, and you'll scrape by with far less. In daily mode everyone on the leaderboard chases the same hidden word, so the ranking is a pure test of vocabulary and nerve.
How to play
- Desktop: simply start typing on your physical keyboard. Letters fill the current row, Backspace deletes, and Enter commits the guess.
- Mobile: tap the on-screen QWERTY keyboard below the grid. The Enter and delete keys sit on the bottom row, sized for thumbs.
- Only real five-letter words are accepted — the row shakes and nothing is spent if your word isn't in the dictionary, so experimental mashing never costs you a guess.
- Watch the HUD above the grid: it tracks your guesses, your elapsed time, and the time bonus still on the table.
- The keyboard remembers everything you've learned, tinting each key lime, gold, or gray so you never waste a guess on a dead letter.
Strategy tips
- Open with a vowel-heavy probe. Words like ARISE, ADIEU, or STARE test four or five of the most common letters in one move and slice the answer space dramatically.
- Make your second guess complementary. If your opener covered A, E, R, S and T, follow with something like COULD or DOING to sweep the remaining vowels and frequent consonants.
- Respect the clock, but don't panic. The time bonus is worth at most 100 points — one whole saved guess is worth 100 on its own. Never rush into a wasted row just to save ten seconds.
- Use gold tiles as anchors. A gold letter must move to a different position in your next guess; re-testing it in the same spot throws information away.
- Beware duplicate letters. Words like BERRY or SWEET are legal answers. If the clues stop adding up, try doubling a confirmed letter.
FAQ
Is Word Rush free to play?
Yes. Like every game on Play, Word Rush runs right in your browser with no download, install, or sign-up required.
Is the daily word the same for everyone?
It is. Daily mode deals the identical hidden word to every player worldwide, so daily leaderboard positions compare pure solving skill — same puzzle, same rules, fastest and sharpest wins.
What counts as a good score?
Anything above 300 means you solved comfortably — roughly a four-guess win with time to spare. Break 500 and you're solving in two or three quick guesses. A 600+ score requires nailing the word on the first attempt, and 700 is a perfect game.
What happens if I run out of guesses?
After six misses the round ends, the hidden word is revealed, and the game scores 0. There's no partial credit — but there's always another word waiting.
Are obscure words valid guesses?
The guess dictionary is much larger than the answer pool: around 1,200 words are accepted as guesses, while answers are drawn only from a curated set of common words. So a rare word can be a great probe, but the solution itself will never be something you've never heard of.
