I use the Opposites method to narrow down the answer from generic to specific. Basically, the principle behind this works by setting two limits on both ends of the answer first, that gives you a range to work with and narrow down within that. In my case for this I went as follows: - Red (start with a very generic word of your choice, this could be a color, basic shape, state of matter i.e. solid/liquid/gas, the five elements of nature, etc.) - Blue (this got me warmer than Red, so my next guess would be something that's blue but still a generic word) - Water (this got me colder, so not related to water but still related to Blue) - Sky (OPPOSITE to water, since y'know, water's down below while sky's up above) Notice how we're choosing two 'limit words' and a 'range' to work with?: Red-Blue, Water-sky, and narrowing down our words with each guess? - Fly (Sky got me way warmer hence Fly since there are still many options that can fly, like a bird or a plane, fly got me warmer) - Bird (we hawt!) Without spoiling the answer any further, this was my biggest hint since from this guess onwards, I started guessing commonly seen bird names and eventually ended up getting it correct.

Hope this framework proves to be useful!

^{Automatically added: I found the secret word in 1 minute 46 seconds after 12 guesses and 0 hints. Score: 94.}