How to play Bable
Bable is a free daily word puzzle that combines word guessing with Sudoku-style logic. Decode four five-letter words: every symbol represents one letter, and every discovery helps you solve the other words.
The rules in a minute
- Select a symbol and type a letter. That letter fills every matching symbol across the puzzle. Each letter belongs to only one symbol.
- Fill a word and check it. You can submit the four rows in any order. Guesses must be real five-letter words; invalid words cost nothing.
- Use the feedback. Green means the exact letter is correct and stays locked. Orange means the letter is wrong but belongs to the correct keyboard row. Grey means the wrong keyboard row.
- Solve all four words before your ninth mistake. Only incorrect word submissions use a guess. Correct words are free, even when you have just one guess left.
Classic: follow the keyboard clues
Each symbol has a colored number matching a row of the QWERTY keyboard. Use the clue to narrow down which letters can fit.
| Value | Keyboard row | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Top | Q W E R T Y U I O P |
| 1 | Middle | A S D F G H J K L |
| 2 | Bottom | Z X C V B N M |
For example, a symbol marked 2 must be Z, X, C, V, B, N or M. The keyboard highlights the relevant row, and letters ruled out by your guesses are greyed out for the selected symbol.
Expert: match the row and column totals
Expert removes the individual number clues. Instead, each word row and each of the five columns has a target score and a current score. Scores add the same keyboard-row values: top = 0, middle = 1, bottom = 2.
For example, PLANT scores 4: P (0) + L (1) + A (1) + N (2) + T (0). Repeated letters count each time they appear. A matching total helps narrow the possibilities, but does not prove that a word is correct. Check it to confirm your letters.
Tips for finding the code
- Start with a row whose symbol pattern and keyboard clues give you a useful word idea.
- Notice repeated symbols: they must repeat the same letter, even in different words.
- Use green letters as anchors. They cannot be erased or reassigned.
- In Expert, check both directions. A letter that fits a word total may still conflict with a column total.
Typing advances to the next editable position within the word. Backspace clears a letter and moves left, skipping green letters. You can use your physical keyboard or tap the on-screen keys on a phone or tablet.
Daily puzzles, streaks and results
A new pair of puzzles arrives at midnight UTC. Everyone gets the same Classic puzzle and the same Expert puzzle on a given date, with different words between the modes. Each mode has its own streak.
Win on consecutive days to keep your streak. Your progress is saved in your browser, so you can return to an unfinished puzzle on the same device. Clearing browser data can remove unsynced progress.
After finishing, share a grid of colored squares without revealing the words. Your result counts mistakes, so a perfect game is 0/9. Rankings compare completed games in the same daily mode: fewer mistakes is better, and ties count equally. Percentiles appear once at least ten players have finished.
Common questions
Is Bable like Wordle or Sudoku?
Bable uses word guesses and colored feedback, with linked clues across multiple words. The shared symbols add a constraint-solving element similar to Sudoku. Orange feedback refers to a keyboard row, rather than a letter appearing elsewhere in the word.
Does guessing a correct word use a guess?
No. Only incorrect word submissions subtract from the nine-guess allowance. Correct words and invalid dictionary entries do not use a guess.
Do I need to download anything?
No. Bable runs in a web browser on desktop and mobile.