Normal
The 5-letter word race
The classic 5-letter race, and the busiest leaderboard.
- 5 lettersper word
- 7 guessesto find it
- 1 raceper day, same word for everyone
Today’s fastest
Nobody’s on the board yet today. The top spot is open.
Full leaderboard → · How to play
What Normal is like
Normal is the classic length and the busiest leaderboard, so finishes are tight and the field is big. There's room for a wide spread of words, which rewards a strong first guess and a second guess that covers new ground more than raw speed. Most racers settle in around four guesses; a three puts you near the top.
Tips for 5-letter words
- Use your first two guesses to try ten different letters. By then you'll usually know three or four letters of the word.
- Look for common shapes: endings like -ER, -LY and -ED, and starts like ST-, CR- and SH-.
- When only a few words fit, guess the one that splits them best, even if it can't be the answer. Fewer guesses in total beats a lucky first try.
How a Normal race is scored
Find the 5-letter word in up to 7 guesses. You can use up to 3 hints. The clock starts when your board appears and stops when you finish. Our server keeps the time, so it’s fair for everyone. Daily results rank hint-free solves first, then by guesses, then by time. Unsolved results rank last. Each solved Daily Race earns (8 − guesses used) × 100 points, plus a speed bonus of up to 99 points that shrinks evenly to 0 at 5 minutes, minus 150 points for each hint you used. An unsolved race earns 0. The speed bonus is worth less than one guess, so with the same hints, fewer guesses always scores more. A hint-free solve in 3 guesses at the one-minute mark is worth 579 points; one in 4 guesses at 20 seconds is worth 492.