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Golden Word Official Rules

Last updated: October 21, 2026

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OR SUBSCRIPTION DOES NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 or older (19 in Alabama and Nebraska, 21 in Mississippi).

1. Sponsor

The Golden Word is sponsored by PlayChannel Inc., 5 Brewster St #508, Glen Cove, NY 11542, United States, which operates the Play To Win brand ("Sponsor", "we", "us"). Contact: support@playtowingames.net.

Apple Inc. and Google LLC are not sponsors of the Golden Word, and are not involved in it in any way.

2. When prizes are offered

  • Prize rounds: a Golden Word round offers a prize when the Golden Word screen in the Play To Win Daily app shows a prize amount. These rules apply to every prize round.
  • Practice rounds: when no prize amount is shown, the round is a practice round. Practice rounds award only Play To Win Daily tokens, which are not prizes and have no cash value.

3. Eligibility

  • Age and residence: you must be a legal resident of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia and at least 18 years old (19 in Alabama and Nebraska, 21 in Mississippi) when you guess.
  • Not eligible: employees of the Sponsor and its affiliates, their immediate families (spouse, parents, children, siblings) and people living in their households.
  • One person, one account: each person may take part with one Play To Win Daily account only.
  • Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

4. How the Golden Word works

  • One shared word: every eligible player plays the same secret word at the same time. It is always a five-letter English word, chosen to be very hard to guess. No letters, clues or hints are shown.
  • Right or wrong only: each guess is answered only "correct" or "not correct". No letter-by-letter feedback is given. A guess can't be changed or taken back.
  • The first correct guess wins: the first correct guess our server receives wins that word's prize, and a new word starts right away. Words are not tied to the calendar: one word can stay open for days, and several can be won in one day.
  • Timing: we record the moment each guess reaches our server, and our server's record decides which guess was first.
  • Outages: a guess that doesn't reach our server because of a network, device or service failure isn't counted.
  • Exposed words: if we believe a word has been exposed before it is won, we void that round (no prize is awarded for it) and start a new word.

5. How to get guesses

Each day (days start at 3:00 AM US Eastern Time) you can get guesses in either of these ways. Both give the same number of guesses, on the same words, with the same chance of winning.

A. By playing (subscribers): a subscriber earns one guess at each star of the day, after finishing 4, 8 and 12 of the day's games, for up to 3 guesses a day.

B. Free, with no purchase: any eligible person may get 3 guesses a day for free:

  • Free account: create a free Play To Win Daily account in the app (no subscription or payment needed). A free account earns 1 guess a day in the app at its first star (4 of the day's games).
  • Free guesses on request: email support@playtowingames.net with the subject "Golden Word free guesses" and the email address of your free account. We add guesses to that account so it has 3 guesses for that day in total, usually within one business day. One request per person per day; automated requests are void.

How guesses are used:

  • You may use your guesses on the current word, all of them if you like. If someone wins while you still have guesses that day, you can use them on the new word.
  • A word stays open until someone guesses it, and each day you can guess it again with that day's guesses.
  • Unused guesses don't carry over to the next day. You can't guess the same word twice in one round.
  • Guesses are limited to 5 a minute per player.
  • Tokens can't be used to get guesses or improve your chances.

6. Odds

The odds of winning depend on how many eligible guesses are made on each word. There are thousands of possible five-letter words, and no clues are given, so winning depends mainly on chance.

7. Prizes

  • The prize: each word's prize is a digital gift card. Its value starts at the opening amount shown in the app for that word, rises by $0.10 with each guess any player makes on it, and stops at the cap shown in the app. The app always shows the current prize amount.
  • Approximate retail value: the prize amount shown in the app when the word is won.
  • One prize per word. There is no limit on how many words a person may win, but each prize is subject to verification.
  • No substitutes: prizes can't be exchanged for cash or transferred. If the gift card isn't available, the Sponsor may substitute a prize of equal or greater value.

8. Claiming a prize

  • Notice: the winner is told in the app right away.
  • Claim: to claim, fill in the in-app claim form: first name, last name, the email address for the gift card, confirmation that you are eligible, and acceptance of these rules. Free-entry winners claim the same way.
  • Deadline: the prize must be claimed within 30 days of the win.
  • Verification: we may check eligibility and ask for proof of identity, age and residence. You must answer within 10 days of our request.
  • Forfeit: a prize is forfeited if it isn't claimed or verification isn't answered in time, or if the winner is found ineligible. A forfeited prize isn't awarded to anyone else.
  • Deleted accounts: a prize can't be claimed after the account is deleted.
  • Delivery: the gift card is sent once, by email, to the address on the claim form. We aren't responsible for a gift card email lost because of an incorrect address.

9. Taxes

Winners are responsible for all taxes on their prizes. If a winner's prizes from the Sponsor in a calendar year reach the IRS reporting threshold ($2,000 for 2026), we will ask for an IRS Form W-9 before sending the prize that reaches it, and issue an IRS Form 1099. Prizes may be taxable even below that threshold.

10. Disqualification

If we have reasonable grounds, based on our records, to believe a player:

  • tampered with the Golden Word or its results;
  • used more than one account, or automated or modified apps;
  • shared answers in a way that breaks fair play; or
  • broke these rules or the Terms of Use,

we may void their guesses and prizes. We act in good faith and don't act on automated flags alone. A player can ask us to review the decision by emailing support@playtowingames.net within 30 days; a person will review it and reply.

If fraud, a technical failure or anything else beyond our control affects the Golden Word, we may pause or cancel it, or void an affected word, and will tell players in the app.

11. Release and limits of liability

  • Release: by taking part, you release the Sponsor, Apple and Google from claims arising from the Golden Word or any prize, except where the law doesn't allow it.
  • Our responsibility: we aren't responsible for lost, late or garbled guesses, or for network or device failures, except as described in section 4.

12. Privacy

We use your information as described in our Privacy Policy (playtowindaily.com/privacy). Winner and payout records are kept as long as tax law requires, generally 7 years.

13. Governing law and disputes

These rules are governed by the laws of the State of New York. Disputes are handled as set out in the Terms of Use (playtowindaily.com/terms). If these rules and the Terms of Use differ on anything about the Golden Word, these rules control.

14. Winners list and rules

For the names of winners (first name and last initial) of a word, or a copy of these rules, email support@playtowingames.net within 60 days after the word is won. These rules are always available at playtowindaily.com/golden-word-rules.