Words Ago
Words Ago is a daily puzzle where you guess an English word using its 200-year usage curve in books; each guess draws its own curve, shows a percent match and era arrow, and the puzzle resets daily.
Play Words AgoA fresh puzzle is waiting for you.
Words Ago gives you only the mystery word's historical usage curve from 1820 to 2019 as recorded in Google Books Ngram data. You type a guess and the game draws that guess's curve on the same chart, shows a percentage match to the mystery curve, an arrow indicating the closest era, and colours letters like Wordle to show correct letters and positions.
You get six guesses to find the day's word. After the puzzle ends you can read a sourced story that highlights the word's key moments on the curve and provides citations for the facts. Finished puzzles are saved in an archive, there is a practice mode with hundreds of words, and the site notes it is an independent game using public datasets and dictionary sources.
How to play Words Ago
- Look at the blue mystery curve showing how often the hidden word appeared in books between 1820 and 2019.
- Type an English word and press Enter to submit your guess; the game will draw that guess's curve on top of the mystery curve.
- Read the percent match and the arrow that points to the era your guess most closely matches, and note the letter colouring which shows correct letters or positions.
- Use up to six guesses to match the curve closely enough to identify the mystery word before the guesses run out.
- When the puzzle ends, read the sourced story to learn the historical moments marked on the mystery word's curve.
Tips for Words Ago
- Start with a common word from a likely era to get an initial sense of the curve's peaks and troughs.
- Compare shapes rather than exact heights; focus on where peaks and rises fall to match eras and events.
- Use letter colouring to lock in known letters and reuse them in later guesses unless you are in Hard mode.
- Hover over or drag across the chart to inspect exact figures and better align your next guess to peak years.
- Try related words or different inflections to see whether the curve match improves, since the chart reflects word forms found in books.
Words Ago FAQ
What is Words Ago?
Words Ago is a daily word-history puzzle where you guess an English word using only its usage curve in books from 1820 to 2019. Each guess overlays its own curve with a percent match, an arrow pointing to the right era, and letters coloured like Wordle, and the game provides a sourced story after you finish.
Is Words Ago free to play?
Yes, Words Ago is free to play. The site states puzzles are playable in the browser with no account needed and offers practice words and an archive without charging for access.
How many guesses do you get?
You get six guesses per puzzle. Each guess draws its curve on the chart, gives a percent match and an era arrow, and reveals any correct letters or positions through the letter colouring.
When does the new puzzle come out?
A new Words Ago puzzle is released every day. The site describes the game as presenting one mystery word per day, so you can expect one fresh puzzle daily.
Can I play past puzzles or practice words?
Yes, you can play past puzzles from the archive and access hundreds of practice words. The site keeps finished puzzles in an archive and also provides a practice mode for additional practice outside the daily puzzle.
Is there a hard mode?
Yes, Words Ago offers a hard mode that gives no hints and requires you to reuse every letter you've found. The hard mode removes the usual hints and enforces that every discovered letter must be used in subsequent guesses.
Is Words Ago like Wordle?
Words Ago shares some mechanics with Wordle, specifically colouring letters to show correct letters and positions, but it is focused on matching historical usage curves rather than guessing letter patterns alone. Each guess draws a historical frequency curve and yields a percent match and era indicator, which is unlike standard Wordle feedback.
Does Words Ago work on mobile?
Yes, Words Ago is playable on mobile devices and the interface includes touch-friendly actions like tapping a guess to highlight its curve and an option to install the app. The site also shows prompts that are tailored for touch interaction.
