Common Ground

About Common Ground

Common Ground is a free daily word puzzle that calls itself a puzzle for everyone, everywhere. Each day a numbered board of sixteen words goes live at midnight UTC, and the job is to sort them into four sets of four that share a hidden link, which the game calls quiet kinships.

The four categories run from easy to tricky and are named Sage, Mist, Clay and Stone. You tap up to four tiles and press Submit four; a correct set is locked in, a wrong one counts against your accuracy. Unlike some grouping games you can keep going after mistakes, and after five wrong guesses a Give up and see solution option appears. Your result is rated Flawless, Solid and so on down to Explorer for four or more mistakes.

The point of difference is the editorial line: no US-only categories and no cultural homework, so a player in Dublin, Delhi or Sydney has the same chance. Sharing copies an emoji grid that never reveals the answers, and your history stays on your device.

It suits Connections fans outside the United States and anyone who wants a calm daily grouping puzzle without a strict life limit.

How to play Common Ground

1. Read all sixteen tiles and look for four words that share something.
2. Tap up to four tiles and press Submit four.
3. A right set is locked in; a wrong guess counts as a mistake but you can keep going.
4. Solve all four groups, from the easy Sage tier to the trickiest Stone tier, then share your emoji grid.

Tips

• Look for words that could fit two groups and leave them until last.
• Solve the most obvious group first to shrink the board.
• Think about meanings, not just topics: synonyms are a common kind of link.
• There is no hard limit, but fewer mistakes give a better rating, so do not guess at random.

Questions