Okay, so I saw someone mention Semantle on Reddit. I thought it was a typo for “Sentinel” or maybe a Wordle knockoff. But curiosity killed the cat—and also my sanity.
Let me explain what happened.
First, What Is Semantle?
It’s a word guessing game. Like Wordle, right? WRONG. You don’t guess letters—you guess ideas. You’re trying to find a mystery word by guessing any word you want. The game then tells you how close that word is in meaning to the mystery word. That’s right. Not spelling. Not letters. Meaning.
So when I guessed “apple” and the game said it had a similarity score of 4.7 out of 100, I was like… cool? Guess “fruit”? Score jumped to 14. Guess “banana”? 17. “Food”? 21. “Nutrition”? 28.
Wait… am I actually playing philosophy now?
Here’s Why It’s Awesome (And Maddening):
It’s deep. You’re thinking about how words relate, not how they look. That’s different. That’s clever.
Every guess matters. Even the bad ones help you understand the “semantic space.”
It makes you feel smart. Until you realize you’ve made 243 guesses and are still cold.
I got hooked. It’s frustrating in the best way. Like doing a crossword without clues and still believing you can beat it.
Downsides?
No clue at the start. You’re flailing in the dark. But that’s kind of the point.
Some words feel obscure. One day the answer was “change.” Another day it was “suburb.” One day it was “aspect.” Your mileage may vary.
Verdict:
Semantle is weird, unique, and challenging. You’ll hate it for a few guesses. Then you’ll get one with a score over 70 and scream with joy. It’s not for the faint of heart—or people in a hurry—but if you’re into slow-burning mental workouts, this one’s for you.
