How to play
There's one secret horror movie every day. You guess films from the vault, and each guess gets a rank showing how close it is to the secret. The secret itself is #1. Keep guessing until you hit it.
Reading a guess
- The rank. Every one of the 533 films in the vault is ranked against the secret. #2 is the closest film that isn't the answer; the last place is the furthest away.
- The temperature. Every rank comes with a word: Burning is the top 10 (you're very close), Warm is 11 to 40, Cold is 41 to 150, and Frozen is everything past that.
- The tags. The tags on a guess show what it has in common with the secret, strongest link first. "Same director" shows up when it applies. "Nothing in common" means you're out in the woods.
How closeness is scored
Each film in the vault is tagged with its subgenre, villain, setting, themes and style. Two films are close when they share tags, and rare tags count a lot more than common ones (two films about a killer doll are closer than two films that just have a cabin). On top of that, a shared director is a big boost, and being from the same era or the same country helps a little.
Heads up: tags aren't spoiler-protected. If the secret has a big twist, a tag might hint at it.
Hints and giving up
Get a hint (the light bulb next to the guess box) starts with clues about the secret itself: first its decade, then its subgenre, then its setting (or its villain). After that, each hint adds a film to your list that ranks about halfway between #1 and your best guess so far. Every hint counts in your result, so use them when you're properly stuck.
Reveal the answer is in the ⋯ menu next to the guess box. It ends the puzzle and shows the film (tap it twice; we don't want any accidents). A revealed puzzle breaks your streak.
The weekly schedule
- Monday to Thursday: well-known horror.
- Friday: the newest film reviewed on the Grave Tone podcast (Friday is episode day).
- Saturday and Sunday: deep cuts, for the people who've seen everything.
- Holidays: expect something seasonal on Halloween and Christmas.
A new puzzle unlocks every night at midnight Eastern.
More ways to play
- Archive: every past daily puzzle, so you can catch up on days you missed.
- Practice: a random film from the whole vault, as many times as you want. Share the link and a friend gets the same film.
- Stats: your streak, solve rate and guess history.
FAQ
My movie isn't in the list.
You can only guess films in the vault (533 so far). It grows every week as we review new films on the show.
Where's my progress saved?
In your browser, on this device. There are no accounts. If you clear your browser data or switch phones, your progress and stats start over.
Is there an app?
Not in the App Store, but you can put it on your home screen and it works just like one.
- iPhone: open the site in Safari, tap the Share button, then Add to Home Screen.
- Android: open the site in Chrome, tap the ⋮ menu, then Add to Home screen (or Install app).
When I find the answer, what's the "Digs" score?
If the secret is a film we reviewed on Grave Tone, the win screen shows our Digs score (out of 10, both hosts averaged), the scare level and a link to the full review. For everything else, you get a link to our horror movie picker instead.