The estimated reading time for this post is 3 minutes
If you’re a fan of word games, you’ll want to check out HQ Words, a new word game from the folks who brought you HQ Trivia. HQ Words is similar to Wheel of Fortune or Hangman, where you choose letters to fill in the blanks for words or phrases.
As with HQ Trivia, HQ Words lets you compete against other players in a live, online game where you’re rewarded with a cash prize for getting all of the answers correct. HQ Words was originally invitation-only but has recently opened up to the general population so anyone can play.
HQ Words is played nightly via the HQ Trivia app, with HQ Trivia starting at 9:00 pm Eastern Time, followed by HQ Words at 9:30 pm. The game is hosted by comedienne Anna Roisman, who offers insights, clues and commentary about the word puzzles.
To play HQ Words guess letters to fill in the blanks in a word or phrase. For each round you’re shown the category to give you some idea of what the answer could be. The games are typically 10 rounds.
Spin the wheel at the beginning of the game to get a letter that’s filled in automatically for each puzzle. Note that not all letters of the alphabet appear in the wheel. Don’t expect to get an “s” or an “e” from your spin.
Blank tiles appear at the top of the screen and the keyboard appears at the bottom. Tap the keys to fill in the blanks and solve the puzzle. You don’t need to type the letters in the order they appear, just tap the letters you think will be somewhere in the answer.
You must fill in all the blank tiles with the proper letters to solve the puzzle within 25 seconds. If you don’t solve the puzzle before time runs out, or you guess three wrong letters in that round, you are eliminated.
No worries, as with HQ Trivia, you can use an Extra Life to stay in the game if you miss an answer. You can earn Extra Lives by logging into either HQ Trivia or HQ Words five days in a row, or by referring other players to the app. The game also offers Extra Lives as an in-app purchase.
The early rounds of the game can be easy but later rounds become increasingly difficult. Some of the puzzles have many letters, making solving them within the time limit quite challenging even if you know the answer.
A chat appears at the bottom of the screen, similar to HQ Trivia, but the chat is blocked by the keyboard during play, so you can’t see the answer if someone reveals it in the chat. You can view the chat, and join in, after you’ve been eliminated.
Solve all 10 puzzles in HQ Words and you’ll share in the cash prize with other winners. The total prize money in HQ Words has been $1000, which is split among the winning contestants. If you’re one of the three fastest players for the game, you’ll earn a bigger share of the pot.
Don’t expect to retire on your HQ Word winnings, but do expect to revel in the joy of victory.
Tonight, HQ Words is featuring its first guest host, Neil Patrick Harris from How I Met Your Mother. The time for tonight’s game has been changed to 9:00 pm Eastern Time, with HQ Trivia to follow at 9:30 pm.
Our first ever guest host, @ActuallyNPH, will serve you some puzzles on Thursday at 9p ET! 🤓 pic.twitter.com/1DO8O1nyjf
— HQ Words (@hqwords) January 7, 2019
You can come join in the fun, test your brain, and maybe even win a cash prize!
Your Thoughts
Do you enjoy playing word games? Have you tried playing HQ Words? Have you ever won at HQ?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below! You can also share your HQ referral code, along with a meaningful comment, to help earn an Extra Life.
Hi Carolyn,
Good post. Word games are fun when you with your loved ones. It is good for your brain to test the every now and then. HQ Words looks good.
Thanks for sharing, have a good day.
Hi Sajid, Yes, word games can be a lot of fun and HQ Words does not disappoint. It’s one thing to guess the puzzle, it’s another to type the letters in time. I hope you get a chance to check out HQ Words, Sajid.
My sister told me about HQ quite a while ago and I have been playing HQ Words ever since they started the beta testing.
I love HQ Words!
Hi Lorraine, It’s great to hear from a fellow HQ Words fan! Playing the game is so much fun, I’m glad HQ is expanding and this new game has a lot of potential to be a hit. I hope to see you in the game sometime!
Feel free to leave your invitation code for other Wonder of Tech readers to use when they try this game. You may earn an Extra Life!
My name there is Lorraine71.
Feel free to send me a request!
And anyone who has PayPal can sign up to play (you need PayPal to collect your cash if you win).
When asked for a “referral code,” just type in Lorraine71.
Thanks!
I was eliminated after one wrong guess? I thought you got three strikes? Happened twice in this game (I used an extra life because I wasn’t sure what happened!)
Hi Chantel, The same thing happened to me! I was eliminated and used an Extra Life tonight, but only got one strike in the next round. People in the comments had the same issue and were divided whether this was due to a rule change or a glitch. I hope you had fun with HQ Words anyway!
Ladies, your “strikes” are the three wrong letters you are allowed per puzzle.
If you do not solve the puzzle before the time is up, or before using your “three strikes,” you are eliminated from the game.
You can only use an extra life once per game, to get back in the game.
It takes 5 consecutive days of playing to earn an extra life.
I hope this clarifies things for you!
Hi Lorraine, Last night people were being eliminated in the later rounds with only one strike (including me!). There were many complaints in the chat about the eliminations for one strike and people were wondering whether it was a glitch or a rule change.
It was probably a glitch.
HQ is famous for that.
That is why a lot of people have uninstalled the app.
Even I have experienced such problems.
It is very annoying and frustrating.
I think it’s great the way these old games that I loved as a kid have been updated for today’s technology. I haven’t tried this one yet, but I think I will give it a shot.
Hi Mike, I hope you enjoy playing HQ Words as much as you’ve enjoyed classic word games from our past. If you join HQ, please use a reader’s code in the comments, then come back and leave your own code to help earn extra lives.