How to play Rarest

The rules

Each day has one prompt, of one of two kinds.

• Category prompts, such as a vegetable, a breed of dog, or a UK town beginning with S. Answers are checked against lists we have written ourselves. Common spelling variants, plurals and leading words like "the" are all fine, and different names for the same thing count as one answer.
• Word prompts, such as a word containing QU or a word that starts and ends with the same letter. Any real English word of three letters or more that fits the pattern is accepted, British or American spelling. One word only.

You can enter up to five answers. Each one is checked as you type it, so you can see straight away whether it counts and fix a typo before you lock in. You get one go: once you lock in, you see your scores alongside the most popular answers and some rare ones you could have given.

How scoring works

Each valid answer scores 100 divided by the number of players who gave it, you included, rounded, with a minimum of 1 point. Invalid answers score nothing and cost nothing.

To stop obvious answers scoring well just because you played early, every answer starts with a head count already added.

• Category prompts: the obvious answers (think carrot for a vegetable) start as if 20 people had already said them, so they are worth about 5 points. Middling answers start at 6, worth about 14. Rarer answers on our list start at 1, so a rare category answer that only you gave is worth 50.
• Word prompts: the head start depends on how common the word is. An everyday word starts at 20, while the most unusual words in the list start at zero, so an obscure word that only you gave can score the full 100.

Scores are live. When other players give the same answer as you, it becomes worth less, so your total settles as the day goes on. Your final total is the sum of up to five answers.

Tips and strategy

Always use all five slots

A wrong answer costs nothing, so never leave a slot empty. If you have one gem and four ideas you are unsure of, enter all of them. The live check also tells you which ones count before you commit.

Skip the first three things you think of

Whatever springs to mind first has probably sprung to everyone's mind. The answers that score are the ones that need a second thought: the vegetable you only meet in a recipe, the dog breed from a specific country, the town nobody outside the county has heard of. Think of a sub-group (root vegetables, gundogs, towns on one stretch of coast) and pick from inside it.

For word prompts, go long and odd

On pattern days the dictionary is huge and the score depends on how common the word is. Five-letter everyday words are crowded. Longer words, technical terms, old-fashioned words and less common plurals or forms are where the points are. For a word containing QU, QUIZ and QUEEN will be everywhere; QUOTIDIAN or QUINCUNX will not.

Validity first, rarity second

A brilliant answer that is not on our list scores zero. For category prompts, aim for things that are genuinely in the category and reasonably well known to someone, rather than something so obscure it may not be on the list. If the live check says it is not on the list, swap it out; there is no penalty for trying.

A worked example

A made-up example: the prompt is a word containing QU. A player enters QUICK, QUEEN, SQUID, EQUINOX and QUAGMIRE. QUICK and QUEEN are among the most common words in English, so they score about 5 each before anyone else plays. SQUID is familiar but less obvious, so it might score in the teens. EQUINOX and QUAGMIRE are rarer still and might be worth 20 to 50 each, depending on how unusual the dictionary rates them and how many other players think of them. By the end of the day the total might be 70 or 80, most of it from the last two answers.

Past prompts, with the most common and rarest answers, are in the Rarest answers archive. For the other five daily games, see the dailies page.

Frequently asked questions

How does Rarest score answers?

Each valid answer is worth about 100 divided by the number of players who gave it, including you. Obvious answers start as if many people had already given them, so they score only a few points even for the first player.

What is the highest score for one answer?

100 points, for a very unusual word on a word prompt that nobody else gives. On category prompts the rarest answers on our list top out at 50.

Do wrong answers lose points?

No. An answer that does not count simply scores 0, so it is always worth filling all five slots.

Why did my score change after I played?

Scores are live. When other players give the same answer as you, it becomes worth a little less, so your score settles by the end of the day.

Is Rarest free?

Yes. Rarest 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 Rarest prompt come out?

At midnight UK time (GMT in winter, BST in summer). Everyone in the world gets the same prompt 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 Rarest 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 Rarest answer?

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