How to Play Quartiles: A Complete Guide
If you’ve discovered the puzzle game Quartiles, here’s everything you need to know to play like a pro: how the game works, how scoring works, and smart tips to boost your score.
What is Quartiles?
Quartiles is a word-forming puzzle game on Apple News+ where you’re presented with a grid of letter tiles (each tile containing 2–4 letters). Your goal is to build valid words by connecting these tiles. More tiles lead to higher-value words and a better overall score. The biggest rewards come from forming special “Quartiles”—the longest combinations in a puzzle.
Gameplay Basics: How to Play
Here’s a step-by-step breakdown:
- Start a new puzzle — you’ll see a grid such as 4 × 5 (4 columns by 5 rows) filled with tile groups (e.g., “lan”, “ic”, “tion”, etc.).
- Tap or drag tiles to form words. You can use between 1 tile (just that group of letters) up to 4 tiles.
- Short words (one tile) earn points quickly but modestly. Longer words—using two, three, or four tiles—pay off much more.
- When you create a 4-tile word (the longest allowed), that counts as a Quartile.
- The primary goal is to find all five distinct Quartiles hidden in the puzzle. Doing so earns a significant bonus.
Quartiles Scoring: How Points Work in Quartiles
Scoring in Quartiles is all about the number of tiles used to form words. Longer words yield exponentially higher points. Here’s the breakdown:
| Example | Points |
|---|---|
| per | 1 point |
| per + son | 2 points |
| per + son + al | 4 points |
| per + son + al + ity | 8 points |
Finding all five Quartiles will earn you a 40-point bonus.
When you reach 100 points in a puzzle, you achieve the Expert rank—an impressive feat that shows mastery of the game! And if you get every word in the puzzle, you’ll hit Perfect status.
See today's quartiles answers.
QuartilesStrategy & Tips to Maximize Your Score
- Clear short words early: Use one- or two-tile combos to build your score and reveal bigger possibilities.
- Begin with the long words: If you spot a possible 4-tile chain early, go for it—biggest payout.
- Shuffle wisely: Shuffling unused tiles can surface fresh adjacency and letter pairings without breaking your found Quartiles.
- Prioritize unique letters: Tiles with less common letters (like Q, X, Z) can be key to unlocking high-value words.
- Check your word list: If you can't find a quartile, check if you can combine two smaller words you've already discovered.
- Track your Quartiles: If you’ve got 3 of the 5, focus on the remaining two to trigger the bonus.
- Play consistently: Daily puzzles improve pattern recognition and speed over time.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re playing for fun or aiming to hit the Expert rank each puzzle, using the right strategy and scoring bonuses makes a big difference. Focus on uncovering those 4-tile Quartile words, aim for the bonus, and uncover as many words as possible for maximum points.
You’re ready to dive into your next puzzle of Quartiles—confident that you know both how to play and how to score. Good luck!
Learn More
Still have questions about Quartiles? Check out our Quartiles frequently asked questions for more.