Splitword tips: solve with no mistakes

Most Splitword puzzles fall in a couple of minutes once you stop tapping pieces at random. These are the habits that cut your mistakes to zero.

1. Brainstorm before you tap

Read the theme and think of five or six words that fit, before you look hard at the pieces. You're not trying to guess the answers, just to put the right kind of word in your head. Then scan the pieces for the start of any of them.

2. Sort starts, middles and ends

Every word is three pieces: a start, a middle and an end. Many pieces can only be one of those.

Starts often begin with a consonant pair that can open a word: SPA, CHE, THU, STR.
Ends look like English endings: ING, ER, ES, LE, TS, ION, OO.
Middles are often awkward letter pairs that can't start or end a word, like RK, PK or TC.

Mentally drop each piece into one of three piles. With four starts, four middles and four ends, the puzzle often solves itself.

3. Leave the decoys till last

Pieces like ER, ES, ON and IN fit dozens of words. Don't build around them. Find the words made of unusual pieces first, and the common ones will be what's left over.

4. Use "two pieces are right"

If the game says two pieces are right, keep two of them in place and swap the third. You don't know which two, but trying the start and end together is usually the quickest check.

5. Shuffle when you're stuck

Your eye gets stuck on the pairs that happen to sit next to each other. Shuffling breaks that and often shows a word straight away.

A worked puzzle

Theme: Diwali night

LERSPALANESRANDLGOLITERNCANRK

Brainstorm: diyas, lamps, rangoli, crackers, sweets, candles, lights.
Starts: RAN, LAN, SPA, CAN all look like word openings. That's our four.
Ends: LI, RN, LER, ES.
Middles: GO, TE, RK, DL. RK and DL could never start or end a word.
Match them up: RAN + GO + LI is the obvious one from the brainstorm. CAN + DL + ES. Then LAN + TE + RN and SPA + RK + LER.

Show the answers

RAN+GO+LI=RANGOLI
LAN+TE+RN=LANTERN
SPA+RK+LER=SPARKLER
CAN+DL+ES=CANDLES

More practice: try the three classroom sets, or make a puzzle for a friend.

Questions

How do I get better at Splitword?

Think of words that fit the theme before you tap, sort the pieces into starts, middles and ends, and leave common pieces like ER and ES for last.

Does using a hint hurt my streak?

No. Hints and mistakes show in your shared result, but your streak only needs you to finish the puzzle.

Play today's SplitwordFour themed words, twelve pieces, one new puzzle a day. Free, no sign-up.