Clockwise is a free daily clock-guessing puzzle. Each day has one clue describing a moment in an ordinary day, like "having your first coffee". You wind an analog clock to the time you think it is, and every guess tells you how close you are, but never which direction. You have six guesses.
How do you play Clockwise?
- Read the clue. It gives you a rough neighborhood and whether it's morning or evening.
- Drag the clock to wind the minute hand. The hour hand follows, like a real clock. The plus and minus buttons nudge one minute at a time.
- Tap Guess. You get a temperature for how far off you are.
- Keep guessing until you're within 3 minutes of the answer, or you've used all six guesses.
On a computer, the arrow keys move the clock one minute, Shift and an arrow move it five, and Enter makes your guess. The clock starts at 12:00. Guessing the same time twice shows a message and doesn't use up a guess.
What do the temperatures mean?
Each guess is scored by its distance from the answer in minutes.
| Temperature | Distance |
|---|---|
| ✅ Correct | within 3 minutes |
| 🟥 Hot | within 10 minutes |
| 🟧 Warm | within 20 minutes |
| 🟨 Cool | within 40 minutes |
| 🟦 Cold | within an hour |
| 🟪 Freezing | more than an hour off |
Distance wraps around the dial, so 11:55 and 12:05 are 10 minutes apart. The temperature never tells you whether you're early or late. Every miss leaves two possible times, one on each side of your guess, and the next guess has to split them.
Strategy and tips
- Start with your honest read of the clue. Disagreement about the "right" time is part of the game.
- A cold first guess still helps. It rules out a whole stretch of the clock, early and late.
- Use your second guess to pick a side. Move about as far as your first miss, and the temperature will show which side you're on.
- Watch the dots. Each guess leaves a colored dot on the face, so you can see the hot and cold zones build up.
- Close the gap in halves. Once you're hot, move a few minutes at a time.
How is Clockwise scored?
Your score is the number of guesses you needed. Fewer is better. When you solve it, the hands glide to the exact answer. If you run out, the answer shows as faint green hands.
The results screen shows the answer, your streak, your best and your average. It also compares your first guess with everyone else's: the average first guess and how far off it was, the average miss, and how many players there were. A solve extends your streak. Running out of guesses resets it to zero.
There's no leaderboard for Clockwise yet. Your stats are kept in your browser on this device.
How do you share your result?
The Share button copies the puzzle number, the clue, and one emoji for each guess. No times are shown, so nothing gives away the answer. On a phone it opens your share sheet.
Clockwise #12 / “having your first coffee” 🟪🟦🟥✅ perdiem.games/clockwise
Common questions
Is the puzzle the same for everyone?
Yes. Everyone gets the same clue and answer each day.
Is the answer am or pm?
The clue tells you. The clock face has no am or pm, so a clue like "getting ready for bed" means the evening.
Can I play past puzzles?
Yes. Past days open from the week strip on your results screen.
Do I need an account?
No. Clockwise is free and runs in your browser with nothing to install.