Guide

How to solve word clues: a beginner's guide

A word clue gives you a meaning and a length. Letters you already have give you the rest. Put the two together and most answers fall out on their own.

1. Start with the clue you're surest of

Don't solve in order. Read a few clues and begin with the one you'd answer without thinking. A sure word gives you letters that help with everything it crosses. A guess you're unsure of can block the words around it.

2. Count the letters before you think

“Large town” could be CITY or METROPOLIS; the number of blocks decides. In WordPebble the clue bar always tells you the length, for example “3 letters”. Fit your idea to that count first, then check the meaning.

3. Let the crossings give letters away

Every letter you place belongs to two words where they cross. Here's a real early WordPebble board. Two letters are already in place, O and W, and the tray holds N, T, O.

The across clue is “The number of wheels on a bicycle”, three letters, with W in the middle. Two wheels: TWO. That uses the T and one O. The down word now reads O, W and one empty block, with an N left in the tray. The clue is “To possess; belonging to oneself”: OWN.

Solving one word made the other almost automatic. That's the heart of every crossing puzzle.

4. Look at the letters you have

In WordPebble you know exactly which letters are left, which is a big advantage over a paper crossword. Before guessing, scan the tray:

• Few vowels left? The remaining words must share them, so place vowels where two words cross.
• An awkward letter such as Q, X, Z or J has very few homes. Find the word that can hold it first.
• Two of the same letter often means a double letter (like the FF in OFF) or a word ending and another starting with it.

5. Read the clue for its grammar

A clue usually matches its answer's form. “To have food” is a verb, so the answer is EAT, not MEAL. A plural clue points to a plural answer, which often ends in S. A clue with a blank, like “We ___ here”, wants the word that fills the blank: ARE.

6. Your own word can count

WordPebble accepts any real word that fits the letters and the crossings, even if it isn't the one the clue describes. If you spot a different word that works, try it. The game marks it as your own word.

7. Getting unstuck

1. Step away from the stuck word. Solve something else; new crossings often unlock it.
2. Say the clue differently. “Not wet” is “dry”. Rephrasing in plain words often finds the answer.
3. Try the letters out loud. Place a few tray letters in the blocks and read them; your ear spots words faster than your eye.
4. Use the gentlest hint first. In WordPebble, Which letters? shows which tray letters finish a word without saying where they go. Save Show a word for real dead ends.
5. Check your letters. If nothing fits, one placed letter is probably wrong. Check my letters finds it, or use Undo.

Common beginner mistakes

• Forcing a long word in early. Long answers are easier once crossings give you a few letters.
• Ignoring the shared block. A crossing letter must work for both words. If it fits one and breaks the other, it's in the wrong place.
• Using a letter twice. Each tray letter is used once. If you need two Es, check that you have two.