5 Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Even experienced players make these common mistakes. Learning to recognize and avoid them can dramatically improve your success rate. Let's explore the five most frequent errors and how to overcome them.

Mistake #1: Rushing to the First Connection You See

The most common mistake is jumping on the first group of four words that seems connected without fully considering all options. This often happens when you spot three words that clearly relate and quickly grab a fourth word that "might" fit.

Why it's problematic: That fourth word might belong to a different group with a stronger connection. Making hasty guesses wastes your limited attempts and leaves you with mismatched words for remaining groups.

How to avoid it: Before submitting, ask yourself: "Could any of these four words belong to a different, stronger group?" Take 15-30 extra seconds to scan all words. Often, that pause will reveal a better connection or alert you to a potential mismatch. The most successful players verify their confidence level before clicking submit—if you're not at least 80% certain, reconsider.

Mistake #2: Thinking Too Literally

Players often focus only on obvious, literal meanings while missing metaphorical connections, wordplay, or alternative definitions. This is especially problematic for blue and purple categories.

Example: Seeing words like "SPRING," "FALL," "SUMMER," and "WINTER," many players immediately group them as seasons—but in harder puzzles, these same words might be part of a different pattern (words that can follow "LAST" or precede "BREAK").

How to avoid it: For each word, consciously list 2-3 different meanings or contexts. Ask: "What else could this word mean? What phrases include this word? Does it have a secondary definition?" This broader thinking is especially crucial when you've identified 2-3 groups but the remaining words don't seem to connect—that's your signal to look beyond literal meanings.

Mistake #3: Ignoring Difficulty Color Progression

Many players tackle groups in random order or even start with the hardest (purple) category. This approach leads to wasted attempts and missed opportunities.

Why it's problematic: Without solving easier groups first, you're working with all 16 words, making it harder to spot connections. Starting with purple means tackling the most obscure connections while still considering words that clearly belong to easier groups.

How to avoid it: Always start with yellow (easiest). Once you eliminate those four words, green becomes clearer. Continue this progression: yellow → green → blue → purple. By the time you reach purple, you often have only four words remaining, making the connection obvious through elimination. This strategic approach can improve your success rate by 40-50%.

Mistake #4: Not Using Process of Elimination

Players sometimes struggle with the final group even when they've correctly identified the other three. They keep looking for a "perfect" connection instead of trusting elimination.

Why it's problematic: Purple categories are deliberately obscure. If you've correctly solved three groups, the remaining four words MUST form the final group, even if the connection isn't immediately apparent.

How to avoid it: After identifying three groups confidently, stop searching for the "perfect" connection in the remaining words. Trust the process—if your first three groups are correct, submit the remaining four even if their connection seems unclear. Often, you'll only understand the purple connection after seeing the answer revealed. This mindset shift alone can turn many near-misses into complete victories.

Mistake #5: Learning Nothing from Failed Attempts

Perhaps the most damaging long-term mistake is making an incorrect guess and immediately trying another combination without analyzing why the first guess failed.

Why it's problematic: You repeat the same thinking errors, never improving your strategy. Without reflection, you're essentially guessing randomly rather than learning from experience.

How to avoid it: After each incorrect guess, pause for 10-15 seconds. Ask yourself:

• Why did I think those four words connected?
• Which word probably doesn't belong to that group?
• What connection did I miss or misinterpret?
• Is there a word with multiple meanings I overlooked?

Bonus Mistake: Overthinking Purple Categories

While not thinking deeply enough is a problem, overthinking purple categories causes equally many failures. Players sometimes construct elaborate, creative connections that seem clever but are too obscure to be correct.

How to avoid it: Even purple categories, while difficult, have logical connections that most players can understand once revealed. If your explanation requires multiple steps of reasoning or specialized knowledge beyond general education, it's probably wrong. Purple is hard, but it's not "advanced mathematics" hard—it's more "clever wordplay" hard.

Putting It All Together

Avoiding these mistakes requires mindfulness and practice. Before each game, remind yourself:

• Scan all words before committing to any group
• Consider multiple meanings for every word
• Start with yellow, end with purple
• Trust elimination when you've solved three groups
• Learn from every incorrect guess

By actively working to avoid these five common mistakes, you'll see immediate improvement in your success rate. Remember: every expert player made these same mistakes when starting out. The difference is that they learned to recognize and correct them.