Four Groups

about this tool

Sixteen words, four groups

The board holds sixteen words that make four groups of four. Pick four you think share something, press Submit, and if they do, the group is set aside with its name. Four wrong guesses end the game. A guess with three of a group's words in it says one away — still a mistake, but a close one.

Each puzzle has one group of each level:

• Level 1 — a plain category: fruits, birds, currencies.
• Level 2 — a category that needs a little knowing: chess pieces, star signs, ragas, collective nouns.
• Level 3 — a less obvious link: usually a word that joins each of the four to make another (FOOT, SNOW, MEAT and EYE each go before ball), or things that share one trait, such as things with shells.
• Level 4 — wordplay: words that sound like letters, hide an animal, begin with a vehicle, or spell another word backwards.

Decoys, and one answer

Nearly every puzzle has a decoy: a word that fits a second group as well as its own — DUCK among the birds when cricket words are on the board, or TANGO among the dances when another group hides a colour. Every puzzle is checked before it is shown to split into its four groups in exactly one way, judged against every word our lists give each group, so a decoy can always be placed by working out where the other words must go.

Today's puzzle and practice

The puzzle of the day is the same for everyone on the same date, and changes at midnight on your device; once you have made a guess, Clear will not start it again. Practice deals a new puzzle whenever you like, and its link deals the same sixteen words to a friend. The result you can copy shows the level of each word in each guess — how it went, without the words. For a word game of a different kind, try Word Guess, the five-letter word of the day; or the grid of Crowns.

Nothing kept

Puzzles are made in your browser from the date or the practice code. Nothing about your game is saved or sent, so reloading starts the puzzle again.

questions

How do you play Four Groups?

Sixteen words make four groups of four. Pick four words you think belong together and press Submit. If they are a group, the group is set aside with its name; if not, it counts as a mistake. Find all four groups before you make four mistakes.

What does "one away" mean?

Three of the four words you picked belong to the same group, and one does not. It still counts as a mistake, but it tells you to swap one word rather than start again.

Why does a word seem to fit two groups?

Nearly every puzzle has a decoy: a word that fits a second group as well as its own. Every puzzle is checked to split into its groups in exactly one way, so the decoy can always be worked out from the other words: the group it seems to fit has four other members without it.

What are the levels?

Each puzzle has one group of each level. Level 1 is a plain category, such as fruits or currencies; level 2 needs a little knowledge, such as chess pieces or ragas; level 3 is a less obvious link — usually a word that joins each of the four to make another, such as ___ball, or things that share one trait, such as things with shells; and level 4 is wordplay — words that sound like letters, hide an animal, or spell another word backwards.

Is there a new puzzle every day?

Yes. The puzzle of the day is the same for everyone on the same calendar date and changes at midnight on your device; puzzles are numbered from #1 on 14 September 2026. Practice gives a new puzzle whenever you like, and each has a link, so you can send a friend the same sixteen words.

Is anything saved or sent?

No. The puzzle is made in your browser from the date or the practice code, and nothing about your game is stored or sent anywhere. Reloading the page starts the puzzle again; the shared result shows only the level of each word you picked, never the words.