Frequently asked questions

Heardle Unlimited is a free, web-based music guessing game inspired by Wordle and the original Heardle. While the original game only allowed one puzzle every 24 hours and eventually shut down, Heardle Unlimited lets you play as many random rounds as you want without daily restrictions. You also get access to specialized genre modes (Pop, Rock, Hip-Hop, Indie, EDM, etc.), decade-specific challenges from the 1950s to 2020s, permanent challenge levels, and the classic once-a-day Daily Challenge.

Each round begins with a 1-second audio snippet of a song intro. If your guess is incorrect or you click "Skip", the playable duration expands progressively: Attempt 1 unlocks 1 second; Attempt 2 unlocks 2 seconds (+1s); Attempt 3 unlocks 4 seconds (+2s); Attempt 4 unlocks 7 seconds (+3s); Attempt 5 unlocks 11 seconds (+4s); and Attempt 6 unlocks the full 16-second clip (+5s). If you cannot name the track after 6 attempts, the title and artist are revealed.

Instead of embedding third-party streaming players (such as SoundCloud or Spotify) that suffer from buffering delays, geographic region blocking, and broken links, Heardle Unlimited utilizes the browser-native Web Audio API. Our custom sound synthesis engine reconstructs authentic harmonic progressions, drum rhythm tracks, filter envelopes, and instrument voicings directly on your device with zero loading time.

Modern mobile browsers (especially Safari on iOS) enforce strict autoplay policies requiring an explicit user interaction before initializing the Web Audio context. If you do not hear audio, ensure that your device hardware silent switch (or Focus mode) is not muting media sounds, increase your media volume, and tap the Play button directly. On iOS Safari, make sure your browser is updated to iOS 14 or later.

The Daily Challenge syncs globally and resets every day at 00:00 UTC (Midnight Coordinated Universal Time). Regardless of your local time zone, all players worldwide receive the exact same puzzle number and track each calendar day, ensuring fair competition and streak comparisons across the global community.

Yes. Your gameplay history—including total games played, win percentage, current daily streak, highest streak record, and 1-to-6 guess distribution graph—is saved locally in your browser via HTML5 localStorage. Because data is stored on your device, clearing your browser cache or switching private/incognito tabs will reset your saved statistics.

Our database contains thousands of verified charting hits, iconic classics, and influential tracks across 16 genres and 8 decades. If a track does not appear, check for slight spelling variations or try searching by the primary artist name rather than the full song title. If you believe an essential hit is missing, you can submit a track suggestion via our Contact page.

Our hint system is divided into three gradual tiers so you can get just enough help without ruining the fun: Tier 1 reveals the general genre and release decade; Tier 2 provides context on the artist vocal style and band lineup; Tier 3 identifies the signature opening instrument and rhythmic key. You control which tiers to reveal and when.

Yes. The interface is fully accessible via keyboard. You can press the Spacebar to toggle playback of the current audio snippet, use Tab and Shift+Tab to navigate between search inputs and buttons, use the Up/Down arrow keys to browse autocomplete results, and press Enter to confirm your guess or Escape to close victory modals.

Heardle Unlimited is 100% free to play. There are no subscriptions, paywalls, or hidden limits on how many rounds you can enjoy. You do not need to register, provide an email address, or create an account to play unlimited games, daily puzzles, or genre hubs.

No. Heardle Unlimited is an independent, fan-created educational ear-training game. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Spotify AB, The New York Times Company, or the original Heardle creators. All song titles, artist names, and musical trademarks remain the exclusive property of their respective copyright holders.

When a game concludes, clicking the "Share Result" button copies a clean, spoiler-free emoji grid (e.g., 🟩⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ for a first-guess win or 🟥🟥🟩⬛⬛⬛) directly to your clipboard. You can paste this text directly into Discord, WhatsApp, X (Twitter), iMessage, or Reddit to show how many attempts you took without giving away the song or artist name.