How to find the secret word in a hot-and-cold word game
Start wide with words from very different topics, then follow the lowest number: try its synonyms, its parts and what it is used for, until you are under 10. In Sonarlex every turn can test 5 words, so spread them across ideas early and bunch them together late.
Updated · The Open Apps, Inc.
A plan that works
- Spread your first turn. Five words from five worlds: a place, an animal, a feeling, a tool, something to eat. One of them usually lands in the hundreds.
- Triangulate. Take your best word and try what surrounds it: where it is, what it does, what it's made of. The number tells you which direction is warmer.
- Think in meanings, not letters. Spelling doesn't matter, only meaning. “sea” and “ocean” are close; “sea” and “seat” are not.
- Mind the second sense. A word can be close for a sense you didn't mean: “bank” can lead to money or to rivers. If a number surprises you, try the other sense.
- Spend hints late. A hint lands about halfway between your best word and the secret, so it is worth more once you are already warm.
A worked example
Here is one turn of five words against an example secret word, with their real numbers from Sonarlex's English list. The best of them points straight at the topic.
| Word tried | Its number when the secret is “orchard” |
|---|---|
| farm | #3 |
| garden | #5 |
| fruit | #14 |
| tree | #24 |
| apple | #100 |
Reading the numbers
What each range tells you, and what to try next.
| Number | What it means | What to do next |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | The secret word itself | You found it |
| #2–10 | Burning: one of its very closest words | Try synonyms and the obvious neighbours |
| #11–100 | Hot: same small topic | Narrow down within that topic |
| #101–500 | Warm: right area, wrong corner | Keep the theme, change the angle |
| #501–2,000 | Cool: loosely related | Look for a nearby theme |
| Over 2,000 | Cold | Jump somewhere new |
Ranges are a guide: a jump from #900 to #300 matters more than the colour it lands on.
Use it in ChatGPT
Sonarlex Word Puzzle is a ChatGPT plugin. Type one of these:
- “Let's play today's Sonarlex”
- “Start the Sonarlex practice puzzle”
- “My words: ocean, ship, salt”
Coming soon to ChatGPTHow it works in ChatGPT
Questions
- Why is a word I think is close still cold?
- Closeness comes from how words are used in millions of texts, not from a dictionary. Two things you link in your head may rarely appear together. Try a more common word for the same idea.
- Do plurals or verb forms help?
- They count as their base word, so “ships” and “ship” get the same number. Trying both wastes nothing, because a repeat costs no turn.
- Can ChatGPT help?
- Yes: ask it for ideas near your best word. It doesn't know the secret, so its ideas are honest guesses. Words it suggests are marked with a robot in your share squares.
- How many turns is good?
- Under 10 turns is a strong game. The card shows the day's median once a few people have solved it.