Every Wordgrid board has 3 row categories and 3 column categories, creating a 3×3 grid of 9 cells. Each cell sits at the intersection of one row category and one column category.
How categories work
A word is valid for a cell only if it satisfies both its row category and its column category simultaneously. Satisfying one but not the other results in a rejection.
For example, if a cell’s row is “Ends with ‘ing’” and its column is “Contains ‘q’”, a valid guess must both end in ing and contain the letter q — such as queueing.
Categories are chosen randomly each game. The daily board uses a deterministic seed based on the date, so all players face the same 6 categories each day. Infinite mode picks a fresh random set each time you reroll.
The same category label can appear as both a row and a column on different boards. A category will not appear as both a row and a column on the same board.
Full category list
All categories are drawn from the pool below. Six are selected for each board (3 rows, 3 columns).
Length
| Category | Rule |
|---|
| 1-2 letters | Word is 1 or 2 characters long |
| 3 letters | Word is exactly 3 characters long |
| 4 letters | Word is exactly 4 characters long |
| 5 letters | Word is exactly 5 characters long |
| 6 letters | Word is exactly 6 characters long |
| 7 letters | Word is exactly 7 characters long |
| 8+ letters | Word is 8 or more characters long |
Starts with
| Category | Rule |
|---|
| Starts with vowel | First letter is a, e, i, o, or u |
| Starts with consonant | First letter is a non-vowel letter |
| Starts ‘th’ | Word begins with th |
| Starts ‘sh’ | Word begins with sh |
| Starts ‘ch’ | Word begins with ch |
| Starts ‘wh’ | Word begins with wh |
| Starts ‘un’ | Word begins with un |
| Starts ‘re’ | Word begins with re |
| Starts ‘pre’ | Word begins with pre |
Ends with
| Category | Rule |
|---|
| Ends ‘ed’ | Word ends in ed |
| Ends with ‘y’ | Word ends in y |
| Ends with ‘ion’ | Word ends in ion |
| Ends with ‘able’ | Word ends in able |
| Ends with ‘er’ | Word ends in er |
| Ends with ‘or’ | Word ends in or |
| Ends with ‘ly’ | Word ends in ly |
Contains
| Category | Rule |
|---|
| Contains ‘a’ | Word contains the letter a |
| Contains ‘ing’ | Word contains the substring ing |
| Contains ‘st’ | Word contains the substring st |
| Contains ‘th’ | Word contains the substring th |
| Contains ‘ch’ | Word contains the substring ch |
| Contains ‘er’ | Word contains the substring er |
| Contains ‘ou’ | Word contains the substring ou |
| Double letter | Word contains any repeated adjacent letter (e.g. ll, tt, ss) |
| Double vowel (ea, oo, etc.) | Word contains any of: aa, ee, ii, oo, uu, ea, ie, ou, oa, ui, ae |
| Contains ‘q’ | Word contains the letter q |
| Contains ‘z’ | Word contains the letter z |
| Contains ‘x’ | Word contains the letter x |
| Contains ‘j’ | Word contains the letter j |
| Contains ‘k’ | Word contains the letter k |
Special
| Category | Rule |
|---|
| 3+ vowels | Word contains 3 or more vowels (a, e, i, o, u) |
| Fewer than 2 vowels | Word contains 0 or 1 vowels |
| 4+ unique letters | Word uses 4 or more distinct letters |
| Palindrome | Word reads the same forwards and backwards (length > 1) |
Strategy
Because each cell requires satisfying two categories at once, finding valid words for the rarest intersections — such as “Contains ‘q’” × “Ends with ‘able’” — is significantly harder than common ones like “Starts with vowel” × “5 letters”. Those hard cells also tend to have fewer candidates, which means the scarcity multiplier boosts your score more.
When you are stuck on a rare-letter cell, think about word patterns first. For “Contains ‘z’” × “Ends with ‘ly’”, try words like fuzzily or dizzily. Starting from the rare constraint and adding the second constraint is usually faster than the reverse.