How to play Eightfold

The rules

• Press Start and the grid appears. The clock starts at the same moment and runs on our server, so refreshing the page does not reset it.
• The hidden word is spelt by a path of touching cells: up, down, sideways or diagonal. The path can bend in any direction at every letter, and no cell can be used twice.
• Drag through the letters, or tap them one at a time. When you have eight, let go and your guess is checked. Drag back or tap the last letter to undo.
• Only one word of eight letters or more can be traced in each grid. Plenty of shorter words hide there too, but they do not count.
• The cell holding the first letter is marked for you, and you are told how many vowels (A, E, I, O, U) the word has.

How scoring works

You start on 1,000 points and lose:

• 2 points for every second on the clock.
• 75 points for each hint. You get four, and each one lights up the next letter of the word in order.
• 10 points for each wrong guess.

Any find scores at least 100. Giving up scores 0 and shows you the word. A one-minute solve with no hints or misses scores 880, and a three-minute solve 640, so speed matters, but a steady search beats random tracing: every 8-letter trace you let go of counts as a guess.

Tips and strategy

Start from the marked letter

The first letter is given, which cuts the search enormously. Look only at the letters touching it: there are at most eight, often fewer at an edge. Ask which of those could sensibly be the second letter, and you usually have just two or three ways to begin.

Use the vowel count

Eight letters with only one or two vowels means consonant clusters such as STR, NGTH, CH or SH. Four vowels means a lighter word with vowels spread through it. Count the vowels near the marked letter: if the word has three and there are only three in that corner of the grid, they are probably all in it.

Hunt for endings

Many 8-letter words end in a familiar chunk: -TION, -MENT, -NESS, -ABLE, -ICAL, -ENCE, -ITY, -OUS, -IVE or -URE. Find one of these traced in the grid and work back towards the marked letter. The hidden word is always a base form, never a plural or an -ED or -ING version of a shorter word, so do not waste time on those.

Ignore the decoys

Grids are built to contain dozens of shorter words. If you keep finding six or seven letter words that cannot be stretched, move away from that part of the grid. The target is also a familiar, everyday word, so if your trace spells something obscure, it is not the answer.

When to take a hint

A hint costs 75 points, the same as about 37 seconds. If you have been staring for a minute without a lead, a hint is usually the better deal, and the second letter often unlocks the whole word.

A worked example

A made-up example: the marked cell holds S and the clue says the word has one vowel. One vowel in eight letters points straight at a heavy consonant word. Around the S you can see T, R and an E, and further across N, G, T and H. S, T, R, E, N, G, T, H traced in order gives STRENGTH. Shorter words such as REST, TENT and GENT sit around it, but none of them reaches eight letters.

Every finished grid and its answer, with some of the best shorter words, is in the Eightfold answers archive. For the other daily games, see the dailies page.

Frequently asked questions

Can the hidden word go backwards or bend?

Yes. The path can turn in any direction at every letter, including diagonally, as long as each letter touches the one before and no cell is used twice.

Is there only ever one answer in Eightfold?

Yes. Every grid is checked against the whole word list so that exactly one word of eight or more letters can be traced in it.

How is Eightfold scored?

You start on 1,000 points and lose 2 points a second, 75 per hint and 10 per wrong guess. Any find scores at least 100; giving up scores 0.

Does refreshing reset the clock?

No. The clock runs on our server from the moment you press Start.

Is Eightfold free?

Yes. Eightfold is free to play in any web browser, on a phone or a computer. There is nothing to install and no account to make.

What time does the new Eightfold grid come out?

At midnight UK time (GMT in winter, BST in summer). Everyone in the world gets the same grid on the same day. If you already have the old puzzle open at midnight, you have 30 minutes to finish it and still have it count.

Can I play past Eightfold puzzles?

Yes. Tap the calendar (Past puzzles) button in the game to replay any of the last seven days. Archive plays are scored with the same rules but are just for fun: they are not ranked and do not count towards your streak.

Where can I see yesterday's Eightfold answer?

The Eightfold answers archive shows every finished puzzle with its solution. Today's answer never appears there until the day is over.