Looplink

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Find four groups of four from twelve words, with link words closing the loop.

Play Looplink

on greatest.games

Looplink on a desktop: today's twelve words, from Diamond and Circle to Court and World, set in a ring around a 0 of 4 groups counter, with four mistakes left

Looplink is a daily grouping puzzle from Greatest Games with a twist. Twelve words make four groups of four, because four of the words are links that each belong to two neighbouring groups around a ring. Find all four groups to close the loop before your fourth mistake.

About Looplink

Looplink starts from the four-groups-of-four format but puts only twelve tiles on the board, laid out in a ring. Four of them are link words, each shared by two neighbouring groups, so every group is two words of its own plus two links it shares with the groups on either side. Find all four groups and the links close the loop.

You tap four words that share a category and press Submit. A solved group is coloured in and its category name appears inside the ring, and a link tile takes both colours once both of its groups are found. A wrong group costs one of your four mistakes; resubmitting a group you have already tried costs nothing. A timer runs at the top, and the scoring gives bonuses for opening with the hardest group, leading with link words, walking the ring in one direction and finishing fast, with a penalty for leaving the links to the end.

On the day we played, the ring held shapes, sports venues, fields of expertise and words for a milieu, with Diamond, Field, Sphere and Circle doing double duty. Working out which words fit two themes tells you which groups sit next to each other, so the ring can often be placed before the first guess.

Looplink is one of the daily games on Greatest Games, a site of word and logic puzzles. A new puzzle goes up every day at midnight US Eastern, the same for everyone, and today's plays free in the browser with no account or download. The site shows ads, which Greatest Games Plus removes. The archive lists every past puzzle: a free account plays the last 7 days and Plus plays them all.

It suits players who like Connections but want to think about how the groups fit together, not only what each one is.

How to play Looplink

Open Looplink on greatest.games and read the twelve words around the ring.
Note the words that could fit two themes; they are likely the four links.
Tap four words you think share a category and press Submit.
Remember that each group holds two words of its own and two links shared with its neighbours.
Find all four groups before your fourth mistake to close the loop.

Screenshots

Looplink at phone size: the same ring of twelve word tiles fills the screen, with Shuffle, Deselect and Submit below

An earlier Looplink board: twelve words, from Iron and Rhythm to Charcoal and Wedge, arranged in a loop around a 0 of 4 groups counter

Tips

Look for words that fit two themes; they are likely links.
Solve the most obvious group first, then work round the ring to its neighbours.
If a group seems to need a word you already used, that word is probably a link.
Do not waste mistakes on guesses that overlap a solved group except through a link.

Questions

Why are there only twelve tiles?

Four of them are link words, each belonging to two neighbouring groups, so four groups of four need only twelve words.

How many mistakes do I get?

Four. Resubmitting a group already guessed does not cost one.

When does Looplink reset?

Every day at midnight US Eastern Time, with the same puzzle for everyone.

Is Looplink free?

Yes. Today's puzzle plays free in the browser with no account, with ads that Greatest Games Plus removes. A free account plays the last 7 days of the archive, and Plus plays every past puzzle.