FAQ

When is there a new puzzle?

Every day at midnight Eastern Time. There's one daily puzzle, and everyone gets the same one.

How do streaks work?

Your streak counts the days in a row you open Picoword. Streaks roll over at midnight Eastern. Losing a puzzle doesn't break it. Miss a day and it starts again at one. Your longest streak is kept.

How do hearts work?

You have unlimited guesses and 5 hearts. Finish the board before you run out.

A real word that isn't on the board, and isn't a bonus word, costs a heart. A guess that isn't a real word costs nothing. Some boards hide hearts you can win back by finding the word they sit on.

Run out and the puzzle is over. In the apps you can watch a short video for one extra heart, once per puzzle.

Why did letters appear on the board?

Valid words not in the puzzle reveal consonants and cost one heart.

Every consonant in your guess that's still hidden in the puzzle shows up wherever it belongs. Vowels don't. You get those by finding words.

Do I need an account?

No. Open the game and play. Your progress is kept on that device.

Signing in saves your progress to an account, so you don't lose it and can pick it up somewhere else.

How do I move my progress to a new device?

Sign in on the device you've been playing on first, so your progress is saved to an account. Then sign in with the same account on the new one.

Switching will replace this device's progress with the existing account. There's no way to merge.

So sign in on the new device before you play there.

Why are there ads?

Running Picoword costs money, and we're not venture-backed tech bros. We show minimal, respectful ads because it's the best way to keep this game free for everyone.

Full-screen ads come at natural breaks: when you finish the daily, between boards, or between duels. In the store you can also choose to watch an ad for diamonds.

Can I see old puzzles?

The archive lists every past daily theme by month. It doesn't list the answers.