The goal: rack up the highest score by making your best puns on the given target in 5 tries. Timed free play is optional. Each pun is scored in the background.
What counts as a pun? Any real wordplay, heard out loud: swap a sound-alike into a familiar phrase (“espresso yourself” for coffee), let the target stand in for a word it sounds like (“whale, whale, whale…”), or twist a double meaning (“current events” for electricity). It does nothave to be about the day's phrase - any genuine pun lands. The only outs: literal statements (“I drink coffee every morning”), stock idioms used straight (“the key to my heart”), retyping the day's phrase, or repeating a pun you already played.
- Wit: is the wordplay sharp, surprising, or layered? Flat puns stay in the low tiers; layered, surprising ones reach Brilliant and PUNBELIEVABLE.
- Phrase link (🔗×): punning off the day's phrase pays a bonus - ×1.5 for twisting the phrase itself, ×1.3 for the target word, ×1.15 for a loose topical thread. Off-target puns still score full base points.
- The twist radar is a quick local scan for sound-twists; semantic puns won't light it up, and the AI judge always has the final say.
- Chain Great-or-better puns for a hot-streak multiplier (up to 3×). Decent puns ride the streak; only non-puns break it.
- Originality (✦×) starts at 1× and is earned: bring a twist that differs from your earlier puns this round for up to 2× - your first pun and any rehash stay at 1×.
- Bonuses: perfect round (+100 for landing all 5) and best pun (+50% of your top pun).
- Hints reveal an example pun for the phrase, but your next scored pun keeps only half its points per hint used - and you can't submit a hint word-for-word.