Word Games
Codebreaker Lexicon
Crack a hidden 5-letter word. Guess any real word and each letter is scored — cyan = right spot, violet = right letter wrong spot, dim = not in the word — and you close in. The deduction game of Mastermind and Bulls & Cows, on the dictionary. Solo against par + live whole-class races. Underneath: information theory — the smartest guess SPLITS the still-possible words the most, not the one you hope is right.
For Educators
Built for the classroom
Deductive reasoning and information theory through play, plus spelling and vocabulary. Every guess is scored per letter, and each score is a CONSTRAINT that filters the set of still-possible secret words. The deep idea, in the gated theorem: the best guess is the one whose score splits that candidate set the most evenly — it carries the most information (Shannon bits) and the smallest worst-case survivors (Knuth's 1977 minimax that solves Mastermind in five). Crucially, the smartest guess is often a word that CAN'T be the answer — it tests the letters the suspects disagree on. Our test proves the splitter cracks every word in the lexicon in 6 guesses or fewer, and that the optimal opener (SLATE) carries ~6 bits. The colours are deliberately our own cyan/violet — not a certain green-and-yellow game.
Grades 3+ · guess ANY common 5-letter word — ~14,800 accepted (RETRY, NINJA, FJORD…), no guessing what's "in the list" — with a clean, common 1,666-word answer pool · crack it in 6 guesses · par is the splitter's own guess count; solo earns the Cracksmith License by matching par + 1 with the Coach off · live races 3/5/10 minutes.
Three ways to play
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Play solo
A hidden word; guess and read the colours. Par is the splitter's guess count for that word — beat par + 1 with the 🧭 Coach OFF to earn the Cracksmith License. The Coach shows what the splitter would guess and how many words are still possible.
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Host a Race
One hidden word for the whole room on the projector; pick 3/5/10 minutes. Students crack it on their own devices, racing to the fewest guesses. The server holds the secret and scores every guess.
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Join on any device
Type 5-letter words; each letter lights cyan / violet / dim. Crack the word in the fewest guesses — fewest in the room wins.
Run a live class in 5 steps
- Open the Race — pick the length; share the 4-letter code / QR / link.
- Students join on any device; one hidden 5-letter word is the same for everyone.
- Each guess is scored per letter; the colours narrow the possibilities. Crack it in six.
- Ask the room mid-race: which guess would rule out the MOST words right now? (Not the one you hope is right.)
- At the end, reveal the word — then send the fast crackers to the Dojo's Splitter lab and the entropy theorem.
Tip: host on a laptop or projector (the big screen shows the code, QR and leaderboard); students join on their phones or laptops.
