← TodayNew puzzles at 00:00 UTC
Puzzle 13Time played 0:00

Crack the Rule

Work out what they have in common.

IN

  • DREAD
  • ALPHA
  • SOLOS

OUT

  • CLAP
  • GRADE
  • RABBIT

Crack the Rule

A quick guide to get you started.

  1. Two piles, one rule

    Three things are IN and three are OUT. A hidden rule decides which is which.

    Every IN example obeys it. Every OUT example breaks it.

  2. Pick the one that belongs

    Exactly one of the three choices obeys the same rule. Tap it, then press Check.

    Only one of the three can be right.

  3. Wrong? Try again

    A choice that does not fit is struck out and the round stays open. Stuck? A hint gives you one short clue.

    It costs the round its clean mark, and nothing else.

  4. The rule, then the next round

    Get it right and the rule is revealed. Five rounds, and a different rule in every one.

    Your score is the rounds you got first time, unaided.

How to play Crack the Rule

Three things are IN and three are OUT. Work out the hidden rule and pick the one that belongs. Five rounds.

  • Three things are IN and three are OUT. One hidden rule decides which is which.
  • Exactly one of the three choices obeys it. Tap it, then press Check.
  • A wrong answer costs a mark and leaves the round open, so nobody is ever stuck: there is no way to lose this one.
  • A hint is one short clue about the rule. It costs the round its clean mark and never names the answer.
  • Five rounds, a different rule in each. The score is how many you got first time without a hint.

Where to start

Read the OUT column first. The IN examples tell you what a rule might be and the OUT examples are what rule it is not: three words that all contain a double letter suggest a dozen rules, and the one word without one that was still put OUT rules out eleven of them. Then test your rule against all six before you look at the choices at all — a rule that explains five of the six is a rule that is nearly right, and nearly right is where the wrong choice lives.