If you are on the hunt for the answer to today’s Wordle, specifically for January 5, 2025, then you’re in the right spot. This post will provide clues, strategies, and ultimately, reveal today’s word. Today’s puzzle presents a moderate challenge; I managed to crack it in four attempts. Warning: Spoilers for Wordle #1,296 are included below! Continue reading for hints leading up to the answer.

Understanding Wordle

Wordle can be accessed here on the New York Times website. Each day at midnight local time, a fresh puzzle is made available.

Your first guess should be a five-letter word. Letters will change color to indicate correctness: green shows a right letter in the right spot, yellow indicates the letter is in the word but in the wrong place, and gray signifies that the letter is not in the day’s solution at all. To learn more, check out our comprehensive Wordle guide and an advanced strategy guide provided at the end of this post.

Are you ready for some hints? Let’s get started!

Are There Any Unique Letters Today?

Common letters are defined using the old typesetters’ phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU—remember this handy mnemonic! Pretend it’s the name of a friend: “Edwin Shirdloo.”

Today’s puzzle contains only two letters from our mnemonic, two fairly frequent ones, while the fifth letter is less common.

Can You Offer a Hint for Today’s Wordle?

It relates to a form of attack.

Are There Any Repeated Letters Today?

Today doesn’t feature any letters that repeat.

What About Vowels in Today’s Wordle?

There’s a single vowel alongside one that’s sometimes classified as a vowel.

Which Letter Begins Today’s Wordle?

The word begins with a C.

What Letter Does Today’s Wordle Conclude With?

Today’s word concludes with the letter R.

What is Today’s Wordle Solution?

Are you prepared? Today’s word is CYBER.

My Process for Solving Today’s Wordle

My initial attempts were the words RAISE and TOUCH, followed by BLEND, which indicated the only viable solution was CYBER.

Wordle 1,296 4/6

🟨⬛⬛⬛🟨
⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛
🟨⬛🟨⬛⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Solution to Yesterday’s Wordle

Yesterday’s Wordle was also of medium difficulty. The hint was “a vacation activity,” with four common letters and one rare letter included in the answer.

The solution from yesterday was RELAX.

Basic Overview of Wordle

The premise of Wordle is to unveil the day’s hidden word. At the start of the game, you’ll encounter a blank grid awaiting your first five-letter word guess.

Your guesses will produce color-coded clues: Green signals a correctly placed letter, whereas Yellow indicates a letter present but mislocated. Lastly, Gray shows that the letter does not belong in the solution.

• Yellow signifies that a letter is in the word but not where you placed it (for instance, guessing PARTY could yield yellow for the R if the target word was ROAST).

• Gray indicates exclusion (a guess of PARTY resulting in all gray means the word cannot be PURSE or ROAST).

Armed with this knowledge, continue guessing additional words, aiming to discover the correct answer within six attempts before time runs out.

Optimal Starter Words for Wordle

What should be your opening guess? The finest starter words usually contain prevalent letters that can help surface yellow and green tiles. Even if all letters turn gray after guessing, it’s still crucial information for narrowing down options. While there isn’t a definitive “best” starting word, based on analysis from the New York Times Wordle bot, these are recommended:

• CRANE

• TRACE

• SLANT

• CRATE

• CARTE

Meanwhile, MIT’s analysis determined that starting with the following can help you eliminate the most possibilities:

• SALET

• REAST

• TRACE

• CRATE

• SLATE

Alternately, good considerations might include ARISE or ROUND. While words like ADIEU and AUDIO maximize vowel potential, some might argue focusing on consonants with options like RENTS or CLAMP may yield better outcomes. Experiment with your strategy to see what works best.

Winning Strategies for Wordle

Seeking insights into Wordle strategies? Various guides can assist those keen on mastering the game. For instance, this guide emphasizes utilizing consonants effectively, while this one focuses on common letters. For a deeper dive into tactics, explore this advanced guide, detailing methods to maximize your chance of scoring a quick win.

The key difference between successful and unsuccessful Wordle players is the ability to gather information from each guess. If you deduce the word ends in -OUND, rather than guessing MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND which waste attempts, try a more strategic option like MARSH. If H comes up yellow, you’re closer to the solution.

Additionally, since Wordle’s transition to The New York Times, an editor curates the list of solution words. This update may occasionally introduce words that deviate from the basic list or correspond to current events. For instance, during a holiday, the word FEAST could pop up. Hence, it’s essential to consider thematic elements.

Alternatives to Wordle

If five-letter guessing games excite you, several engaging alternatives to Wordle, sorted by difficulty, include:

• Wheeldle, which allows continuous puzzle-solving.

• Dordle and Quordle, where you tackle two or four puzzles simultaneously, using the same guesses. There’s also Octordle with eight puzzles and Sedecordle offering sixteen.

• Waffle, which challenges players to swap scrambled letters in a grid to form five-letter words.

• Absurdle, which dynamically alters its solution after each guess, requiring you to cleverly narrow down options until only one word remains.

• Squabble, where players compete against each other in real-time, with penalties for delays in guessing.

• Antiwordle, where players aim not to guess the day’s solution, reusing letters previously guessed correctly to prolong gameplay.