Spotle

About Spotle

Spotle takes the Wordle idea and applies it to musicians. Instead of letters, each guess is an artist picked from a pool of about a thousand popular acts, and the game shows how that artist lines up against the hidden one. The site is run by Flatwhite Studios.

Each guess fills a row of six tiles: the year of the artist's debut album, how many members the act has, their rank by listeners, gender, genre and country. A green tile is a match. A yellow tile means you are close, for example a debut a few years off, a popularity rank not far away, or a country on the same continent. Arrows on the numbers tell you whether to aim earlier or later, higher or lower.

You never hear a song while you play, so it is a game of deduction more than ear training. A good opening guess splits the field by genre and era, and from there you narrow it down. Puzzles are numbered and everyone gets the same artist each day. Between games the site also runs fan-vote brackets, such as song against song.

Spotle suits people who follow charts and know when their favourite acts broke through. It is quick to play, and because the pool spans decades, older listeners and younger ones each get days that favour them.

How to play Spotle

1. Press Play to start today's puzzle.
2. Type an artist's name in the search box and pick one from the list.
3. Read the six tiles: debut year, members, popularity rank, gender, genre and country.
4. Green means a match, yellow means close, and arrows show which way to move on the numbers.
5. Use what you learned to choose the next artist, and find the mystery act within ten guesses.

Tips

• Start with a mid-popularity act from a big genre so the rank and genre tiles both tell you something.
• Pin down the decade early; the debut year arrow cuts the list fast.
• Watch the members tile: a solo artist and a band rarely get confused once you know which it is.
• A yellow country means the right continent, so switch to a neighbour rather than starting over.
• The pool is limited to well-known acts, so do not spend guesses on obscure names.

Questions