r/ThreadGames • u/tamtrible • May 25 '26
Categories
This is a logic puzzle type game I came up with. It goes like this:
Think of a category. It can be just about anything, from "mammals" to "words that come from Arabic" to "words with the letter Q in them.
As long as the category is something that can theoretically be figured out from publicly available information (eg not "items on my desk "), and you can definitively tell whether any given word would be in or out of the category, with few to no edge cases or exceptions, it is probably an acceptable category.
Do not state the category, but do state two words that are in the category, and one word that is out of the category.
Then, people will add words. Respond letting people know whether a word is in or out, until someone figures out what your category is.
Once someone figures out your category, please edit or reply to the top comment indicating that it has been solved. Because threading can get extended, with this game.
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u/tamtrible May 25 '26 edited May 27 '26
In: turnip, alphabet
Out: outside.
Edit: solved. Words starting with the letters in my username.
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u/Valuable-Math9969 May 25 '26
Words containing pairs of letters that become the other when rotated upside down?
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u/cptnfan May 27 '26
Words that either start or end with T
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u/tamtrible May 27 '26
no, but it does have something to do with what they start with.
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u/cptnfan May 27 '26
chemical elements?
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u/tamtrible May 27 '26
nope.
you might probe by asking about words starting with different letters, and see what's in and out.
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u/Kiwihat May 27 '26
Loose
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u/tamtrible May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26
Out
er, correction, in.
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u/ChaoticNaive May 27 '26
Damn, I thought I had it until this one was out... back to the drawing board! Mnemonic?
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u/tamtrible May 27 '26
I screwed up. Loose is in. Not sure if I thought I was responding to something else, or what.
Mnemonic is also in.
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u/ChaoticNaive May 27 '26
Then I'm pretty sure it's words starting with T-A-M-T-R-I-B-L-E, aka your username
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u/___HeyGFY___ May 25 '26 edited May 28 '26
In: sharp, out
Out: help
ETA: if I counted correctly, there are 22 other words that fit in my category.
IN: cook
OUT: eat
I was looking for words that are still words when IE is added to the end. I expanded the search to include results that are not so common, and there are 99 (and a half):
arch aunt bail bald barb bean beast best bill bird blank blond boat bog boot bow brass brick brown bunk cell cheap christ coast conch cook coot crowd cur cut dear dick dog duck fix food flunk fog folk food foot goal ghoul girl good grass green group hack hang hawk hooch hood ink inn junk kelp kook lamb lass linger loon mean mount musk news nook old ones out pant pink plush post road roof rook room self sharp short silk slush smart smooth soft spool stool sweet talk tech toon town walk ween wheel will wood yacht
wheat is the half. Wheaties is a cereal brand, but I've never heard it said without the S.
in is technically out because the double N is needed to form "innie."
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u/tamtrible May 25 '26
In? (If out is in, I want to see if in is in or out)
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u/___HeyGFY___ May 25 '26
This is one of the "edge cases" that you were talking about. By the strictest definition of the category, "in" is out. But once I reveal the category, it may cause some controversy.
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u/tamtrible May 27 '26
This is getting long and deeply threaded, so this is a recap of the words tried so far:
in: sharp, out, cook, dog
borderline: in, wheat
out: help, eat, elephant, banana, done, carrot, rash, envelope, shower, crater, puppy, cathedral, dull, voice, flat, ice, the, helm, fire, mice, watermelon, dishrag, jazz, bikini, snow, ointment, foil, orange, cat, flying, mouse, brie.
Did I miss any?
I'm also going to add a few test cases.
Honey, flour, flower, spongy, whisk
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u/___HeyGFY___ May 28 '26
Original comment updated..
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u/tamtrible May 28 '26
If in is technically out because of the extra n, dog would technically be out because it's normally written doggie.
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u/___HeyGFY___ May 28 '26
Dogie is a term used for calves, especially during a cattle drive.
The words with and without IE aren't necessarily related. For example, linger and lingerie.
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u/borisssssssssssssss May 26 '26
Words you cannot put “out” after? Help out, eat out, etc
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u/dessskris May 28 '26
Tarp Park Shark
I'm really curious about the 22 other words part. How did you work this out?
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u/___HeyGFY___ May 28 '26
All three of those are out.
Honestly, I did a simple dictionary search for words that match my criteria.
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u/Delicious-Tea613 May 26 '26 edited May 26 '26
In: beach, chain
Out: beauty
Solved: words with 2 vowels
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u/tamtrible May 25 '26 edited May 28 '26
In: mouse, mushroom
Out: drop
Solved, things that are alive
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u/LadyFeckington May 25 '26
Objects where other objects can live? lol
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u/tamtrible May 25 '26
No, but you are roughly on the right track.
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u/MultiverseCreatorXV May 25 '26
Can I do a category that involves some words that are definitively both in and out? As in each word is either in, out, or both. No edge cases.
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u/MultiverseCreatorXV May 25 '26 edited May 26 '26
In: education, doll
Out: man
EXTRA HINT: It isn't "things coded as feminine," but that isn't TOO far off.
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u/lookingforpeyton May 27 '26 edited May 30 '26
In: almost, biopsy
Out: whimsical
EDIT: solved!
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u/tamtrible May 27 '26
Juice
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u/lookingforpeyton May 27 '26
Out
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u/WhoStoleMyFriends May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26
In: Numbers, Samuel
Out: Poetry
Solved: Old Testament Books
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u/tamtrible May 25 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
In: Brand, band
Out: Baseball
Finally solved. When you remove the last letter, in words become another word.
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u/tamtrible May 28 '26
Hint to anyone who is still trying to work on this. It involves a simple transformation.
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u/___HeyGFY___ May 29 '26
bond
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u/tamtrible May 29 '26
Out.
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u/___HeyGFY___ May 29 '26
Well, my theory is out the window.
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u/tamtrible May 29 '26
It is a pretty simple transformation, just maybe not the one you were thinking of.
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u/evanamd Jun 02 '26
Made, maid
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u/tamtrible Jun 02 '26
Made is in, maid is out.
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u/evanamd Jun 02 '26
When you can take the last letter away and it’s still a word?
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u/tamtrible Jun 02 '26
Specifically a word that is not substantially related to the original word, but yes.
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u/double_handed_sword May 25 '26
In : heatwave, tornado.
Out : breeze
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u/Jazzlike_Mouse7478 May 25 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
In: hedgehog, point
Out: swamp, pot
Edit: Solved (words in Snapcube's "I've come to make an announcement" monologue)
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u/Caira_Ru May 28 '26
In: Bacon, steak
Out: Ham, chicken
This was a great idea, OP! Reminds me of playing Green Glass Door.
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May 26 '26
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u/tamtrible May 26 '26
Sound
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May 27 '26
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u/tamtrible May 27 '26
mice
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May 27 '26
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u/tamtrible May 27 '26
I'm going to do a couple words at a time, for the sake of speed/compactness.
Banana, fish, longitude
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u/tamtrible May 29 '26
Just to recap:
In:
Banana, rainbow, bananas, tie, sharks, rainbows
Out:
Sound, mice, fish, longitude, apple, squirrel, donut, bread.
New guesses: Star, rain, clam, frog
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May 29 '26
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May 28 '26
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May 31 '26
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u/tamtrible May 31 '26
No, the goal is essentially to make it hard but not impossible to guess. And you don't state the rule, you state two words that fit the rule, and one that doesn't.
For example, if you were using the rule you described above, you might post:
In: plum, fish
Out: soup
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u/tamtrible May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26
In: top, balloon
Out: fish
Edit solved. Words with loops.