A daily sorting puzzle: five things, one hidden rule

Every day SORT OF gives you five everyday things and one cryptic clue. They share a hidden rule that puts them in a single correct order. Work out the rule, sort the tiles, and do it in four guesses.

How to play

  1. Read the clue. It hints at the hidden rule without naming it.
  2. Drag the five tiles into the order you think the rule gives, or tap two tiles to swap them. Least or first goes on the left, most or last on the right.
  3. Submit. You are told how sorted the row is as a percentage, never which tiles are wrong.
  4. You have four guesses. Afterwards the rule is revealed, with the fact behind each tile.

Questions

+What is SORT OF?

SORT OF is a free daily sorting puzzle. Each day you get five everyday things and one cryptic clue. The five share a hidden rule that puts them in a single correct order, and you have four guesses to find it.

+How is the score worked out?

Five tiles make ten pairs. The score is the share of those pairs that are the right way round relative to each other: 100% means sorted, 50% is what a blind shuffle averages, and 0% means the row is exactly backwards.

+When does the new puzzle arrive?

Every day at midnight Central European time. Everyone gets the same puzzle, wherever they are.

+Is it free? Do I need an account or an app?

It is free, with no account, no download and no ads. It runs in any modern browser and is designed for phones first; you can add it to your home screen to open it like an app.

+Can I play earlier puzzles?

Yes. The archive is a calendar of every puzzle so far. Earlier puzzles can be played at any time, but only the day’s own puzzle counts towards your streak.

+How hard is it?

There are no easy days. Puzzles come in three levels, Hard, Very hard and Fiendish, and the week builds from Monday to the weekend. The rule might be a number, a date, a size, a word hidden inside each name, or how the names sound.

+Is it like Wordle or Connections?

It is in the same spirit: one puzzle a day, a handful of guesses, and a spoiler-free result to share. The difference is the task. Instead of guessing a word or making groups, you put five things in order.