How to play Letterly
The rules, how the originality scoring really works, and tips for a bigger score.
The rules
Letterly is a daily categories word game, a quick online twist on Scattergories. Every day everyone gets the same letter and the same ten categories, such as Fruit, Board game or Thing you'd find in a pub. Press start and you have 90 seconds to write one answer for each category, every one starting with the day's letter.
- A new round goes live at midnight UTC. One scored play per day.
- The letter is never Q, X, Y or Z, and never the same two days running.
- The ten categories are picked so you will not get two from the same theme (say two geography categories), and on about half of days one of them is a harder one, like Composer or Chemical element.
- The clock keeps running if you switch tabs; when it hits zero your answers are submitted.
Scoring: originality wins
An answer only scores if it is valid: it starts with the letter as written (Knife counts for K), it really belongs to the category, and it is spelt correctly. Answers are checked automatically, including a check that the answer fits the category. The same word in two categories only scores once.
A valid answer then scores by how many players gave it. With n players sharing an answer, it is worth 100 ÷ n0.85, rounded:
| Players with that answer | Points each |
|---|---|
| 1 | 100 |
| 2 | 55 |
| 3 | 39 |
| 5 | 25 |
| 10 | 14 |
| 20 | 8 |
| 50 | 4 |
Letterly also keeps a baseline list of common answers for each letter and category, counted as if other players had already given them. That is why an obvious pick like Orange for Fruit scores low even if you are the first to play that day, and why a genuinely rare answer is the way to a big score.
Your result labels each answer: unique nobody else gave it, rare one or two others, uncommon three to seven others, and common eight or more.
Bonuses: +20 for a clean sheet (all ten valid), and a speed bonus of up to 15% of your score for submitting early, scaled by the time left on the clock.
Tips for a higher score
- Skip the first answer that comes to mind. If it came to you instantly, it came to everyone else too.
- Be specific. A more precise answer is a different answer: on 16 October 2026, 11 players wrote Oak for Tree or plant, while Oleander was a one-off worth far more.
- Fill every box. A blank is worth nothing, and all ten valid earns the clean sheet bonus.
- Do not go too obscure. Made-up or misspelt answers score 0, so pick something real you can spell.
- Finish early if you are happy. The speed bonus is a share of what you scored, so better answers still matter more than a few seconds.
- Study the archive. The past answers show which picks everyone reaches for.
The most predictable answers so far
From the answers archive: the answers the biggest share of players reached for. Each of these scored only a handful of points.
- Eraser for Thing in a pencil case (#113)31 of 33 players
- Euro for Currency (#120)40 of 43 players
- Orange for Fruit (#111)28 of 31 players
- Denmark for European country (#26)24 of 27 players
- Uno for Card game (#142)30 of 34 players
- Uranus for Planet or moon (#142)30 of 34 players
- KIA for Car brand (#79)20 of 23 players
- Lettuce for Burger topping (#25)25 of 29 players
Frequently asked questions
- What is Letterly?
- Letterly is a free daily categories word game. Everyone gets the same random letter and the same ten categories each day, and you have 90 seconds to write one answer per category that starts with that letter. It runs in your browser, with no download and no account needed.
- Is Letterly like Scattergories?
- Yes, it is the same idea: a letter, a list of categories and a timer. The differences are that Letterly is a daily puzzle everyone plays with the same letter, it has a 90-second clock, and instead of crossing out matching answers around a table, it scores every answer by how many other players gave it.
- How is each answer scored?
- A valid answer scores more the fewer players gave it: 100 points divided by the number of players with that answer raised to the power 0.85, rounded. A unique answer is worth 100, one shared by two players about 55, by five players 25 and by twenty players 8. Common answers also count a built-in baseline, so an obvious answer scores low even early in the day.
- What counts as a valid answer?
- It must start with the day's letter as written (so Knife counts for K), it must genuinely belong to the category, and it must be spelt correctly. Misspellings, wrong-letter answers and blanks score 0, and the same word used in two categories only scores once.
- Are there any bonuses?
- Yes. A clean sheet bonus of 20 points if all ten answers are valid, and a speed bonus of up to 15% of your score if you submit before the 90 seconds are up: the more time left, the bigger the bonus.
- When does a new round start?
- A new letter and set of categories go live at midnight UTC, which is 1am in the UK during British Summer Time. You get one scored play per day, and if you start just before midnight you can still finish that round.
- Which letters can come up?
- Any letter except Q, X, Y and Z, and never the same letter two days running.
- Can I see the answers from past rounds?
- Yes. The answers archive shows every finished round with the most common answers and the rare gems. Today's round is never shown, so the archive cannot spoil the game.
- What happens if I leave the page mid-round?
- The clock keeps running. If you come back in time you carry on where you left off; if the time has run out, what you had typed is submitted for you.