Contexto vs Semantle
Same idea, different feedback. Here is what that changes.
Guess the secret word. Closer guesses get a lower number.
The shared idea
Both are daily games with one secret word, and both score a guess by how close it is in meaning rather than in spelling. Guessing “ocean” when the answer is “sea” gets you very close in either game, even though the two words share almost no letters.
How each one tells you where you are
- Semantle gives a similarity score, with 100 meaning the answer itself. Once your guess is among the thousand words nearest the answer, it also shows your position out of 1,000; further out, the score is all you get.
- Contexto gives every guess a rank out of the whole vocabulary of about 70,000 words. Rank 1 is the answer, and rank 40 means exactly 39 words are closer.
The practical difference shows up early in a game. A rank of 3,000 tells you at once that you are in the right area but not close. A similarity score in the low twenties can mean much the same thing, but you only learn that after playing enough to know what the numbers feel like.
What Contexto adds
- Hints that reveal a closer word when you are stuck, and then the answer’s letters one at a time.
- Unlimited practice puzzles that never touch your daily streak.
- The daily puzzle in Spanish, Portuguese, French and German as well as English.
- Past puzzles in the archive, each playable from the start.
Getting good at either
The skills carry over. Start broad, with ordinary everyday words, and narrow down once something lands close — the best starting words and the strategy guide are measured on this game, but the reasoning behind them applies to Semantle too.
Keep reading
Frequently asked
- What is the difference between Contexto and Semantle?
- The feedback. Semantle scores each guess as a similarity number, and only once you are among the thousand nearest words does it also show a position out of 1,000. Contexto gives every guess a rank out of the whole vocabulary, so rank 40 always means exactly 39 words are closer.
- Which one is easier?
- Most players find a rank easier to read, because it says how far away you are in plain numbers from the very first guess. A similarity score needs a feel for what a given number means before it helps.
- Is Contexto made by the Semantle team?
- No. Contexto is an independent game with its own vocabulary and answer list.
- Can I play both every day?
- Yes. Each has its own daily word, so playing one does not spoil the other. They also make good practice for each other, since the skill — knowing which ideas sit near each other — is the same.