What is Proximo?
Proximo is a French secret-word game based on meaning: you type words, and each one gets a rank showing how close it is to the word to find. The lower the rank, the closer you are. The game says nothing about letters: only closeness in meaning counts.
If you know Cemantix or Semantle, the idea will feel familiar. A new word goes live every day on the Proximo page, the same for every player. The secret word comes from a French dictionary, is 5 to 10 letters long and is never a verb. You will need a good French vocabulary to enjoy it.
The rules of Proximo
What you see on screen
At the top, a tag shows the theme of the day, such as "Météo" (weather), "Animaux" (animals) or "Musique" (music). The secret word belongs to that theme, which steers your first guesses. Just below, tiles fill up as you type: the length of the secret word is not shown.
In the middle, your guesses are listed from best rank to worst, topped by your "Meilleur rang" (best rank).
How to submit a word
Type a word on the on-screen keyboard or your computer's keyboard, then press Valider (submit). Accents are ignored. A word you already tried is refused and doesn't count.
Careful: the game does not check that the word exists. A typo simply comes back "Hors liste", and it counts as a guess.
How to read the result
Each guess gets one of three results:
| Result | Meaning |
|---|---|
| #1 to #100 | the word is among the 100 closest neighbours; #1 is the closest |
| Hors liste | the word is too far from the secret word to make the list |
| Mot cible | you found it and won the game |
A coloured bar sits under each guess: almost full at rank #1, shorter as the rank grows. "Hors liste" words get only a thin sliver.
Forms of the same word share a rank: if the list holds "nuage", then "nuages" normally gets the same rank. One notable exception: other forms of the secret word itself, such as its plural, are not on the list and come back "Hors liste".
The hint button
The Indice (hint) button reveals a word from the list, tagged with an "Indice" badge. Hints start from the bottom of the list: the first gives rank #100, the next #99, and so on. They show you the area of meaning without handing over the answer.
A first game, walked through
Here is a sample game. The word and the ranks are made up for the example.
The theme is "Météo" (weather). You open wide with MAISON (house), just to see: "Hors liste". Too far, as expected.
Stay on theme. PLUIE (rain) gets #12, NUAGE (cloud) #20. Both are on the list: the secret word is about bad weather, but not exactly rain.
Get more precise. AVERSE (shower) climbs to #4. GRELE, typed without the accent, shows as "grêle" (hail) at #2. The bar is almost full: you are at the heart of it.
Narrow it down. TONNERRE (thunder) takes rank #1. What is closest to thunder, in the weather theme, 5 to 10 letters, and not a verb? You try ORAGE (storm): "Mot cible" badge, game won.
The tally: six wrong guesses before the right word, no hints. Each wrong guess cost a little score, without ever putting the win at risk.
How the score works
Scores are out of 1000 points, with 1 to 3 stars. Three things matter:
- Wrong guesses: each one takes 3% off the play rating, about 30 points. A "Hors liste" word costs as much as a ranked one.
- Hints: each one costs about 60 points.
- Time: the reference time is 4 minutes. Finishing in 2 minutes or less earns up to 200 bonus points; finishing far slower costs at most 250 points.
Two stars start at 450 points, three at 750. From 34 wrong guesses on, the play rating hits zero: only a time bonus can still earn points.
After your first game
Proximo rewards a rich vocabulary and a good feel for word associations. To get more consistent, read our Proximo tips. To learn where the ranks come from, and why an unexpected word can rank high, see how proximity works in Proximo. And if you enjoy this kind of game, our pick of games like Cemantix has more.