How to play Duotone
Duotone hides two five-letter words on the same five tiles. Your job is to put the tiles back in order, the right way up, so that both rows spell real words, as fast as you can. You get three checks, and each one adds 10 seconds to your time.
The basics
Each tile carries two letters: one in amber on top and one in teal underneath. One letter belongs to each hidden word. At the start of the day, the five tiles are shuffled and some of them are upside down, so letters from the two words are mixed between the rows.
Here is a solved board. The top row spells STONE and the bottom row spells BRAIN:
And here is how the same tiles might be dealt at the start of the day:
There are only two moves:
- Flip a tile by tapping or clicking it. Its two letters swap rows.
- Move a tile by dragging it left or right onto another tile. The two tiles trade places.
On a keyboard, use the arrow keys to pick a tile, Space to flip it, Shift plus an arrow key to move it, and Enter to check.
Checking and the colors
When you think you have it, press Check. Each tile is colored to show how close it is:
| Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
SB | Green: the right tile in the right spot, the right way up. It locks in place, so you can't move it by accident. |
RT | Yellow: the right tile in the right spot, but upside down. Flip it. |
EN | Gray: this tile belongs somewhere else. |
Either word may end up on top. Once a tile turns green, the game remembers which word you put on top, and the colors follow that choice for the rest of the puzzle.
You have three checks. Solve it within three and you win; use them all without solving it and the puzzle reveals both words.
The clock and the 10-second penalty
A timer starts when the puzzle appears. Your final time is your solving time plus 10 seconds for every check, including the one that solves it. Solve it in 45 seconds with two checks and your time is 1:05.
- The clock pauses while Duotone is in a background tab or another app, and while a window such as the instructions or your stats is open.
- If you leave and come back, or reload the page, the clock carries on from where it stopped.
- After you finish, you'll see how your time compares with everyone who played that day.
The glow, and why it can fool you
Whenever a row spells a real English word, its letters glow. It's a useful hint, but be careful: most puzzles hide several decoy words. You can often make one row spell a word while the other row is nonsense. Every Duotone puzzle is checked by computer to make sure there is exactly one arrangement where both rows are real words at the same time, and that's the one you're looking for.
Strategy tips
1. Start with the awkward letters
Letters like J, Q, X, Z, V and K only fit in a few places. Work out where they can go first, and the rest of the word often follows.
2. Look for common endings
Many five-letter words end in -ER, -ED, -LY, -CH, -SH, -TH or a single -S or -E. If you spot those pairs, try them at the right-hand end.
3. Count the vowels on each side
Most five-letter words have one or two vowels. If one row has four vowels and the other has none, some tiles need flipping.
4. Solve the stronger word first, then check the other row
Once one row clearly wants to be a particular word, read the other row and ask whether it could be a word too. If not, that first word may be a decoy.
5. Think before you check
Each check costs 10 seconds and you only get three, so a few extra seconds of thinking usually pays off. A check that turns tiles green is never wasted, though, because those tiles lock. If you're torn between two arrangements, check the one that would teach you the most either way.
6. Expect the week to get harder
Monday and Tuesday puzzles are the easiest, Wednesday to Friday are medium, and weekend puzzles are the hardest, with the most decoy words.
Daily puzzles, practice and streaks
- A new daily puzzle arrives at midnight in your own time zone. Everyone in the world gets the same puzzle on the same date.
- Practice mode has hundreds of extra puzzles that never count toward your stats, so you can play as much as you like.
- Your stats track your best and average times. Streaks count the days in a row you've solved the daily puzzle. Missing a day resets your streak, but your best streak is kept.
- Accounts are optional. Create one with a username and password to keep your streak on every device you play on.
Frequently asked questions
Can both words go on either row?
Yes. Either word can be on top; the puzzle is solved as long as both rows spell the two hidden words.
Why didn't my real word count?
Each puzzle has one specific pair of hidden words. A different word, even a real one, is a decoy if the other row can't also become a word at the same time.
Where can I see past answers?
In the puzzle archive. Puzzles appear there once their day is over in every time zone, so it never spoils today's puzzle.