Linkup

How to play Linkup

Every day there are sixteen words on the board, hiding four groups of four. Each group shares something: they might all be kitchen tools, all hide a smaller word, or all fit in front of the same word (like foot, basket and snow before ball).

• Tap four words you think belong together, then tap Submit.
• Right: the four words slide together into a coloured band with the group’s name.
• Wrong: you lose one of your four mistakes. If three of your four were right, you’ll see One away!
• Make four mistakes and the game shows you the groups you missed.

Groups run from Easy (yellow) through Medium (green) and Hard (blue) to Tricky (purple). Every band is labelled with its level as well as its colour.

Scoring

You get 20 points for each group you find and 5 for each mistake you don’t use, so a flawless solve is 100. Share your result and your friend gets the same puzzle with your score to beat. Your share shows only coloured squares, in the order you guessed, so it never gives the answers away.

Tips

• Watch for red herrings: most puzzles have a word or two that seems to fit a group but belongs somewhere else.
• Stuck? Hit Shuffle. Seeing the words in a new order often shakes a link loose.
• Start with the group you’re surest of. Every group you lock in leaves fewer words to sort.
• Purple groups are often wordplay: hidden words, sound-alikes, or words that go before or after another word.

Why it’s good for you

Linkup works your vocabulary and your flexible thinking at the same time. Each word can mean several things, so you have to hold a few possible groupings in mind, test them against each other and let go of the ones that don’t work. Teachers call that categorisation and cognitive flexibility; you’ll just call it the “aha!” when a tricky group clicks.

A new puzzle every day at midnight. Free, no account, works on any phone or computer.