4 x 3 rules and how to play
4 x 3 is a daily grouping puzzle: four categories, three words in each, and one single word that belongs to all four groups. You fill the board, then decide when you are confident enough to call the shared word. This page explains the grid, the risky Call It move and how the daily puzzle is published.
What is 4 x 3?
4 x 3 is a daily word grouping game published on author Hank Green's own site. The board gives you four categories with three words apiece, and one word is shared by every group, which is why the puzzle is drawn as four by three rather than a straight twelve-word grid.
The prompt sits above the board, progress markers show completions, win percentage and streak, and the site sometimes labels a round as a beta puzzle with a feedback form attached. Hank also links to his other word game, Smush, from the same page.
How to play 4 x 3
Read the prompt and sort the twelve words into the four categories, three words per group. The twist is that one word has to sit in all four groups at once, so a word that looks like a clean fit for one category may actually be the shared hub.
You can play the whole board normally and submit your four groups, or use Call It. Calling it means you declare which word you believe is the hub: you get one chance, and if you are wrong you fail the entire board, so the move is for confident players only.
Feedback after a submission shows how close the grouping was, and your completed rounds feed the win percentage and streak counters at the top of the page.
The daily puzzle
One new puzzle a day is published on the site, and the streak counter only means something if you come back tomorrow. Beta rounds occasionally appear with a feedback form, which the site uses to test unpublished ideas before they become permanent.
As with every guide on this site, no current hub word, grouping or answer appears anywhere on this page.
Similar games
Grouping, ranking and pattern puzzles all share the 4 x 3 rhythm of one board a day. These guides on the same site are the closest matches.
4 x 3 at a glance
- Daily grouping puzzle by Hank Green
- Four categories, three words each
- One hub word belongs to all four groups
- Call It: one chance to name the hub, wrong = board lost
- Win percentage and streak tracking
- Runs on the creator's own site, free to play
Frequently asked questions about 4 x 3
What is the hub in 4 x 3?
The hub is the single word that appears in all four categories. Finding it is the core of the puzzle, because every group needs it.
How many words are in each group?
Three. There are four categories of three words, and one word is shared by each group.
What does Call It do?
It lets you declare the hub word directly. You only get one chance, and a wrong call fails the whole board.
Who makes 4 x 3?
The puzzle is published by author Hank Green on his own website, alongside his other word games.
4 x 3 (source site): the daily board, the Call It feature and the streak stats, all read while writing this page.