Two Numbers, Two Questions
As you solve on Klew, the app keeps two scores, and they answer two different questions.
- Points answer how much have you played, and how well. They only ever go up. This is your "kept showing up" number.
- Skill rating answers how good a solver are you. It can move up or down, and it is comparable from one solver to the next no matter how much each of you plays.
You earn both on the same solve. They just measure different things. Here is how each one works.
How Points Work
Every solve earns points. A few things decide how many:
- Size and difficulty. Bigger, harder grids are worth more. A 5x5 mini is worth about ten points; a 13x13 Sunday weekly is worth roughly ten times that. A tougher puzzle of a given size is worth more than an easy one.
- Speed. Beat the puzzle's par time and you earn a speed bonus. The further under par, the bigger the bonus.
- A clean solve. Finishing with no wrong letters and no reveals is worth a little extra.
- Your streak. Keep solving day after day and every solve earns a small bonus that grows the longer the streak runs, up to a cap.
Used Check or Reveal? The solve still counts and still earns points, just at a reduced rate, with no speed or clean bonus.
Points never decrease. They are the long, satisfying tally of everything you have ever solved.
How the Skill Rating Works
The skill rating is the competitive number, and it works like a chess or tennis rating. If you have heard the term, it is an Elo rating.
Here is the idea. Every puzzle has a rating of its own, set by its difficulty. An easy mini is a low-rated opponent. A brutal Sunday is a high-rated one. When you solve a puzzle cleanly, you "play" it, and your rating moves based on how you did against what was expected:
- Beat a puzzle rated above you, and you climb. A lot, if you also beat par.
- Solve an easy puzzle about as expected, and you barely move. You were supposed to clear that one.
- Dawdle on an easy puzzle, and you can slip a little.
This last part is on purpose, and it is the most important thing to understand: solving easy puzzles well never drags your rating down. A naive "average of your performances" would punish a strong solver every time they did a quick mini. Elo does not. It only measures you against the bar each puzzle sets, so you are free to play every size without fear, and you climb fastest by taking on bigger, tougher grids.
Two more rules:
- Only clean solves move your rating. Use Check or Reveal and your points still grow, but your rating holds steady.
- Faster is better, measured against par. Solving at the par time is a solid result. Solving well under par is a strong one.
Provisional, Then Settled
Everyone starts at 1000, marked provisional. For your first ten clean solves your rating moves in big steps, so it can find your real level quickly. After ten, it settles and changes in smaller, steadier amounts. You will see "provisional" next to your rating until then.
The Tiers
Your rating maps to a named tier, so you always know what you are climbing toward:
- Novice — below 1000
- Solver — 1000 and up
- Regular — 1300 and up
- Sharp — 1600 and up
- Expert — 1900 and up
- Cruciverbalist — 2200 and up
Where to See Them
- On your Profile: your lifetime points, your rating, and your tier.
- After a clean solve: the finish screen shows the points you earned and how your rating moved.
- On the leaderboards: per-puzzle solve times, and a global Standings screen that ranks solvers by rating.
The Short Version
- Want points? Show up every day, go for clean solves, and climb the size ladder.
- Want rating? Solve clean, and take on harder grids. Beating a puzzle above your level is how you rise fastest.
Two numbers, one habit: solve today's puzzles, and watch both of them tell the story of how you are getting better.
Klew is built in Charleston, South Carolina, for solvers who care about a clean grid.