Odd One Out: How to Play, How the Two Steps Score, and How to Earn Missing Link

Mustard, fennel, cumin, cinnamon, coriander. One of these isn't like the others. Most people land on cinnamon pretty quickly. Ask them why, though, and you'll hear something about desserts. That's not it. Cinnamon is the inner bark of a tree. The other four are seeds.

Knowing which one is out and knowing why are two different things, and Odd One Out scores them separately. First you spot the tile that doesn't belong. Then you name what the other four have in common. It's one of two new free modes in Trend Trivia® 1.7.0, along with Rank It, which brings the free bonus modes to six. There's nothing to unlock and no subscription involved.

How a round works

A round is six sets. Each set is five tiles, three across the top and two below, with a topic chip above them so you know if you're in Food & Drink, History, Space or somewhere else.

Step one: tap the one that doesn't belong. You get one tap, and you can't take it back. If you're right, the tile turns green and gets an Odd one flag. If you're wrong, your tile shakes red with a Fits in flag, and the real odd one pops up in gold. Either way, the other four light up together so you can see the group you were supposed to find.

Step two: what links the other four? Four options slide in under the tiles. Pick one. This step counts even if you missed step one, so a bad first tap doesn't sink the whole set.

Once you've answered, the screen clears down to the right link and your pick if it was wrong, and a card underneath explains why the odd one is out. There's no timer on either step, so take your time.

How scoring works

Finding the odd one is worth 300 points. Naming the link is worth 200. A full set is 500, and a perfect round of six is 3,000.

Because the two steps are scored on their own, a missed tap still leaves 200 on the table. Some of the best scores come from players who miss the odd one, look at the four that lit up, and figure out the link from there.

The XP you earn at the end is based on how many odd ones you found, and your daily streak multiplier applies on top of that. A round of Odd One Out also counts as playing for the day, so it'll keep your streak going.

What the results screen tells you

When the round ends you see your total, then six chips, one for each set. Each chip has two small bars, one for the odd one and one for the link, and it turns gold when you got both. Under those are three stats: odd ones found, links named, and your XP.

Then there's the This round card, which lists every odd one next to what linked the other four. It's a quick read, and it's the fastest way to see whether you're better at spotting the outsider or at naming the group.

How the sets are made (and why that helps you)

A few of the rules we write by will make you a better player, so here they are.

• Only one answer holds up. This is the rule we're strictest about. With five things there's almost always more than one way to split them, so every set gets checked for a second odd one before it goes in. Here's one we threw out: Mercury, Venus, Pluto, Mars and Jupiter. We meant Pluto, the one that isn't a planet anymore. But Jupiter is the only gas giant in the group, so it works too. A set like that doesn't make it into the game.
• The wrong links are really wrong. Every wrong option is false for at least one of the four tiles. If you check each option against all four, you can rule it out.
• No "technically also true" answers. You won't see an option that's just a broader version of the right one, like "Birds" sitting next to "Birds of prey."
• No vague links. "Things people like" or "Famous names" won't show up. The link is always something specific you can check.
• Plenty of variety. Sets come from 13 topics, from Animals and Geography to Art & Music and Sports.

Tips from playing a lot of it

Name the group before you tap. Before you pick the odd one, try to say what the other four share. If you can't put it into words, you might be looking at the wrong tile.

Be suspicious of the obvious split. The first difference you notice is often the one everybody notices, like the only sweet spice or the only red fruit. The real link tends to be a little more specific than that.

Use step two like a checklist. Test each option against all four tiles. The right link is true for every one of them. If an option only fits three, it's out.

Don't rush the tap. It's one tap with no take-backs, and there's no clock. Five extra seconds here is worth 300 points.

The Missing Link badge

It's one of four badges that came with 1.7.0. The others are Perfect Order for Rank It, Free Spirit for playing a round of all six free modes, and Marathon for playing 10 rounds in a single day. That brings the app to 64 badges.

Will you see repeats?

Not for a while. The game keeps track of every set you've played. Sets you've never seen always come first. After those, the ones you got wrong come back before the ones you got right, and only then does anything cycle around. We're adding new sets all the time.

Where to find it

Update to version 1.7.0 on iPhone or Android, open the app, and look for the Odd One Out tile in the free-mode grid under Solo Play. The intro screen walks you through it with a penguin hiding among four mammals. After your first round, Play Again skips straight to the first set.

The other free modes

• Rank It: drag four things into the right order. A perfect list earns a bonus.
• Fact or Fiction: real or made up? You find out why either way.
• Spell It Out: guess the answer one letter at a time, with six bulbs to spare.
• Ballpark: slide a ruler to your best guess at a number. Close counts.
• Clue by Clue: who am I? The earlier you call it, the more it's worth.

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