Why every try counts
In Tusmo, your score out of 1,000 depends first on the number of tries. Each extra try takes 120 performance points off, down to the sixth:
| Word found on… | Performance points |
|---|---|
| 1st try | 1,000 |
| 2nd try | 880 |
| 3rd try | 760 |
| 4th try | 640 |
| 5th try | 520 |
| 6th try | 400 |
On top of that comes a speed bonus (up to 200 points if you win in under a minute) or a gradual penalty beyond two minutes, capped at 250 points. Each joker costs 60 points. The total is kept between 0 and 1,000; a win at 750 or more earns 3 stars, at 450 or more 2 stars.
The upshot: saving a try is worth more than saving thirty seconds. The tips below focus on cutting the number of tries first.
1. Open with common, distinct letters
Your first guess should cover as much ground as possible. In French text, the most frequent letters are, in order, E, A, I, S, N, R, T, O, L and U. A good opener of the right length packs five or six of them, with no repeats: every doubled letter is a square that tests nothing new.
Since the first letter is given, it tells you nothing: the squares after it do the work. Our guide to the best Tusmo starting words suggests French examples by first letter and word length.
2. On your second try, explore rather than confirm
After a weak first guess, it is tempting to keep the orange letters and shuffle them around. That is often too early. If you only have one or two letters, a second word that tests five new letters (O, U, L, C, D, M, P…) teaches you more.
Green letters, on the other hand, are locked and pre-filled: you cannot swap them out. Use the free squares to probe new letters, then switch to placing letters on your third or fourth try.
3. Think in positions
An orange letter tells you two things: it is in the word, and not in that spot. For each orange letter, keep track of the positions you have already tried. After two or three guesses, there are often only one or two places left.
This elimination beats intuition. Before submitting, check that your guess doesn't put an orange letter back where it was already orange, and uses no grey letters.
4. Master double letters
French loves double letters (LL, SS, TT, NN) and repeated Es. Tusmo handles them like this: green squares are assigned first, then orange ones from left to right, and a letter is only coloured as many times as it appears in the word. Here is an example with a 6-letter mystery word containing a single E:
Same mystery word, another guess:
Remember the rule: a grey letter isn't necessarily absent if the same letter is green or orange elsewhere on the row. It only means there is no extra copy. Conversely, if a word seems obvious but you have run out of letters, think of doubling: one letter can fill two squares.
5. Think like a French dictionary
The word of the day is 5 to 8 letters long and is not reused within 30 days. Conjugated verb forms ("chantait", "prenez") are rare: think of nouns, adjectives and infinitives first. Accents don't count, and É is typed as E.
For long words, endings are your best friends: -TION, -MENT, -EUR, -AGE, -ETTE, -IER, -ANCE. As soon as two final letters are green, list the matching suffixes and try the most common one.
6. Read the keyboard like a dashboard
The keyboard under the grid shows the best colour each letter has earned. Before each guess, one glance stops you from replaying a grey letter. On a computer, you can also type on your physical keyboard, which is faster than tapping on screen and helps with the speed bonus.
7. Save the joker for the right moment
The joker reveals one letter in an unknown position, picked at random among the squares you don't know yet, never the first. It costs 60 points, half the cost of an extra try (120 points). So it pays off as soon as it saves you a try.
The right moment is when one or two squares remain and several candidates fit (B, D or M? R or L?). Early on, a randomly revealed letter is worth less than a good exploratory guess.
If you miss the sixth try
After six tries, free play lets you keep going without scoring, and extra guesses never push your score any lower. You might as well continue: finding the word yourself sharpens your method for tomorrow.
To review the basics, read how to play Tusmo. And if you enjoy the format, try our other daily word games.