After Wordle took the world by storm in 2022, fans of word games began searching for the next big thing to pass the time and test their brain power. Contexto was released shortly after and had been played by 80% of American word game fans by the end of the year, with 34% even going so far as to state that it was their word game of choice.
How to play Contexto
Contexto is a unique word game in which players try to find the solution word using as few guesses and hints as possible. However, each time a guess is made, it is ranked according to its relativity to the solution word, by using an algorithm that has analyzed a large database of texts.
1. As you begin a game of Contexto, you will see the number of the game, a counter for the number of guesses made and a box to enter your guesses.
2. For your first guess, enter a word of your choice into the box and submit it. If a word isn’t in the Contexto dictionary, the guess will not be played and you will have to play another word instead.
3. Once each guess is made, Contexto will tell you the rank of the word you entered with respect to its similarity to the target word. Players should use this information to make guesses that decrease in value until the solution is finally reached.
4. Numbers between 2 – 300 are relatively close to the answer (green), 301 – 1,500 are less accurate (yellow) and numbers that exceed 1,500 are very inaccurate (red).
5. Continue to enter guesses based upon the information available to you after submitting each word. If you get stuck trying to find words that are closer to the solution, try asking for a hint through the menu navigation above the game. Due to the game’s high level of difficulty, players are allowed to ask for as many tips as they need.
6. When the solution word is eventually found, the game will end and a summary screen will appear to inform you of statistics. On this screen, you will be able to see the puzzle number attempted, whether you succeeded or failed (if you choose the “give up” option), how many hints were used and a breakdown of all guesses made.
Whereas many word games limit the number of guesses you are able to make, Contexto allows players to make as many guesses as needed to find the solution and offers an unlimited timeframe to complete each puzzle. However, the number of guesses you take will determine your final score, so try to keep them on the low-side, if you can!
Best Contexto guesses
To make the best guess in Contexto, consider using words that have a broad scope, covering different ideas and contexts. Typically, it is a good idea to start with one of the four following words:
- Person
- Place
- Thing
- Idea
Upon playing each of these terms, consider the score displayed each time. If one of the words turns green (between 1 and 300), it will probably be a good idea to dive deeper into more specialized words that it is associated with, rather than playing another of the listed terms.
Contexto help
Once you understand the rules of Contexto, you may be wondering how to get better at the game. WordsRated have highlighted the most important strategies you will need in order to reduce the number of turns you take when finding the elusive solution.
Start strong – When starting a game of Contexto, you will need to find a good starting word combination to help you narrow down some closely related words. Try a little experimentation until you find your first green word, before searching for other words that it could be associated with.
Related words – If you have already identified some green words and are looking to narrow your search down further, try using a thesaurus to find some synonyms or related concepts. Always remember that the key to winning a game of Contexto is to consider the meaning and context behind the words you enter.
Random words – From time to time it can also pay dividends to enter a couple of spontaneous words to mix things up and provide you with a source of inspiration. This can be really useful when you have entered a number of guesses in a row based on association but still haven’t managed to surpass your best attempt.
Play common or abstract nouns – Many of the solutions in Contexto will fall into the common or abstract noun categories, which should make them easier to identify. Knowing this, try not to waste your guesses on proper nouns such as Tokyo, Pepsi or Shakespeare.
Take a holistic approach – When considering the next word to play, always take a look over each of the words you have already guessed along with their word score. By doing so, you will be able to get a better feel for the types of words that have been more successful and you can build out associations from these.
Ask for a hint – When you get really stuck and are in need of a little help, there is no harm in asking for a clue. Players are able to access hints through the menu icon above the game and ask for as many needed. Although it is entirely up to you, we suggest asking for a maximum of three hints per puzzle to keep the game challenging.
Never rush – Although Contexto is a daily game like Wordle with new solutions launched each day, each solution can be played for an unlimited amount of time and even simultaneously. Due to this, there is no need to rush your guesses as you have the option to play each puzzle for as long as you require.
Games like Contexto
Word games remain a common leisure time activity for players all over the world and Contexto is no exception, with its unique word finder concept. Below, we take a look at some of the most popular word games available right now with varying levels of similarity to Contexto that fans can enjoy:
- Semantle: A stripped back alternative that Contexto was originally based upon. The difference with Semantle is that the solution word can be any part of speech and all guesses you make are case-sensitive.
- Connections: Good pattern recognition skills are a must in this innovative puzzle game. To play Connections, players must categorize 16 words into groups of four words, based upon a hidden concept that links them all together.
- Wordle: The immensely popular 5-letter word game that has become a household name. In Wordle, players have to find the solution word using as few turns as possible by using letter clues provided by previous guesses.
- Letter Boxed: The idea behind Letter Boxed is to use 12 letters situated around a box (3 on each side) to form words until each letter has been used at least once. Letters can be used multiple times to form a word but letters from the same side cannot be used sequentially.
- Spelling Bee: Find as many words as you can using the seven given letters that have been shaped into a hexagon pattern to climb a daily leaderboard. The twist is that Spelling Bee’s center-most letter must be included in every solution.
Contexto settings and options
Players are able to access a menu by clicking on the three dots icon above the game and navigating to “settings”. Here, you can customize some of the game’s options to your preferred requirements.
- Language: Choose between English, Spanish or Portuguese.
- Theme: A light theme and a dark theme is available to provide different visual experiences to the player.
- Hints:
- Easy – The hint given is half the number of your closest word.
- Normal – The hint given is one number less than your closest word.
- Hard – The hint given is a completely random word.
- Sort by: Opt to view guesses in order of similarity or by the order that they were attempted.
- Other: Players can toggle whether or not to see a countdown to the next word after the daily word is solved.
How is Contexto calculated?
- Contexto uses an artificial intelligence algorithm to determine how similar each guess is to the hidden solution word.
- To perform this process, thousands of texts are analyzed and categorized.
- The data that is used to determine the similarity between each word comes from Stanford University’s NLP Group.
Can you play previous Contexto games?
Yes, it is possible to play all previous Contexto games by navigating to the menu screen and clicking on “previous games”. Here, you can select any previous level to play, choose a level at random and even play games simultaneously.
What do the colors mean in Contexto?
In Contexto, each guess will turn a specific color to indicate its similarity to the target answer. This will also be reflected in boxes at the end of the game through an infographic that can be shared with other players via social media.
- Green: The answer itself (#1) or close to the answer (#2 – #300).
- Yellow: Some similarity with the answer (#301 – #1,500).
- Red: Not similar to the answer (#1,501+).