Advanced Guide to Rebus Box
A rebus puzzle is a word picture: a few words or letters arranged in a box so that the way they look spells out a common phrase. In Rebus Box, MIND written above a line with MATTER under it is mind over matter, and the word CAKE turned upside down is upside down cake. Look at the box, work out the phrase, then type it into the answer spaces with the on-screen keyboard or your own keyboard. The spaces show how many words the answer has and how long each one is.
When every space is filled, the game checks your answer. If it is wrong, the spaces shake and you can delete letters and try again as many times as you like. There is no timer. On a small screen, tap the picture to see it bigger, and tap again to close it.
What to Look For in a Rebus
Every puzzle uses one of ten kinds of trick, and noticing which one is the whole game:
- Where it sits: over, under, on, between, at the top or in a corner. Reading between the lines is the word READING between two lines.
- Size and shape: big, small, tall, short, stretched or thin letters.
- Tucked inside: one word inside another, read as "this in that", like HOLE inside ONE.
- Which way: backwards, upside down, sideways, or reading up or down the box.
- Color: a word in red, blue, green, pink or gold, where the color is part of the phrase.
- Counting: how many times a word appears.
- Sounds like: letters and numbers that sound like words, such as 4 for "for".
- Split apart, shapes and something odd: words broken in two, words that make a circle or a staircase, and letters that are missing, faded, half gone or mixed up.
Hints That Teach the Trick
Stuck? The hint button works in three steps. The first hint does not give any letters away: it tells you which kind of trick the box uses, such as "Look at where each word sits". The second fills in the first letter of every word. The third fills in a whole word, choosing one the picture does not already show, longest first. Solve a puzzle with no hints for three stars, with just the trick for two stars, and with letter hints for one star. Show answer reveals it for no stars, so you are never stuck for good. A puzzle can be tried again from its box with Try again. Since you have seen the answer by then, a second try is worth at most two stars (one star after Show answer), and your best result is kept.
After every puzzle a card explains how it works, and the puzzle goes into your Aha Book, which collects every solved puzzle by kind of trick. It is a quick way to learn how rebus puzzles are built, which makes the harder boxes easier.
Ten Boxes, 100 Puzzles
The puzzles come in ten boxes of ten, from the Warm-up to Mastermind, and get harder as you go. Box 1 is open from the start, and solving (or revealing) seven puzzles in a box opens the next one, so one puzzle that will not give in never blocks you. Your stars, points, the Aha Book and every puzzle you are partway through are saved in your browser.
Points and the Leaderboard
A puzzle solved with no hints is worth 100 points, with the trick hint 70 points, and with letter hints 40 points. Your total is the sum of your best result on every puzzle. Finish a box to see your score and add your name to the Rebus Box leaderboard.
Where Rebus Puzzles Come From
The word rebus comes from Latin, "by things", and picture puzzles that spell words with pictures and letters go back centuries, from coats of arms to printed puzzle cards. Word picture puzzles like these are a favorite in puzzle magazines, classroom warm-ups, party games and phone apps, and teachers use them because they reward looking at a problem from a different angle. Every puzzle in Rebus Box was written for this game.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a rebus puzzle?
A rebus puzzle shows a common phrase with the way words or letters are placed, sized, colored or repeated. In Rebus Box, the word FEELING written in blue means feeling blue, and the word TROUBLE written twice means double trouble. Each box has one phrase, and the answer spaces show how many words it has and how long each word is.
How many puzzles are there?
There are 100, in ten boxes of ten: Warm-up, Easy Street, Mind the Gap, Tucked Inside, Twists and Turns, Over and Under, Look Closer, Brain Teasers, Tricky and Mastermind. Box 1 is open from the start, and solving or revealing seven puzzles in a box opens the next one.
How do the hints work?
The hint button has three steps. The first tells you which kind of trick the puzzle uses without giving away any letters. The second fills in the first letter of every word. The third fills in a whole word, picking one the picture does not already show, and can be used again until one word is left. Show answer reveals the whole phrase.
How are stars and points worked out?
Three stars and 100 points for a puzzle solved with no hints, two stars and 70 points if you used only the trick hint, and one star and 40 points if you used a letter hint. Show answer gives no stars and no points. Wrong guesses cost nothing. Your total is the sum of your best result on every puzzle. A puzzle can be tried again from its box, but because you have seen the answer by then, a second try counts for at most two stars, or one star if you used Show answer. Three stars are only for a clean first try.
What is the Aha Book?
The Aha Book collects every puzzle you have solved, with a short note on how it works, sorted into the ten kinds of trick, such as Where it sits, Tucked inside and Sounds like. It shows how many of each kind you have found, so you can see which tricks you know and which are still a mystery.
Do I have to type the answer exactly?
Yes, but the answer spaces help. They show each word of the phrase and its length, so you know, for example, that the answer has three words of 4, 4 and 4 letters. Type with the on-screen keyboard or a real keyboard, and use the delete key to fix a letter. Letters filled in by a hint stay in place.
Is there a leaderboard?
Yes. When you finish a box, the card shows your total points and a Leaderboard button that lets you add your name to the Rebus Box board. The Leaderboard button on the main menu does the same at any time once you have points.
Does it work on phones and tablets, and is my progress saved?
Yes. The puzzles are drawn so they stay sharp at any size, and the keyboard keys are big enough to tap. Your stars, points, Aha Book and every puzzle you are partway through, including the letters you typed and the hints you used, are saved in your browser on that device, and a Continue button on the menu takes you back to the last one.
Are the puzzles in English?
Yes. Rebus puzzles depend on how English words look and sound, so all 100 answers are English phrases, even on the Spanish version of this page.
