Playing Wordle: A Quick Guide

Access Wordle here on the New York Times site. Each day at midnight in your local timezone, a new puzzle becomes available.

Your first task is to guess a five-letter word. The game provides feedback: letters turn green if they are correct, yellow if they are in the word but not in the right place, and gray if they are not included at all. For further guidance, check out our Wordle playing guide and my advanced tips at the end of this article.

Ready for some hints? Let’s get started!

Are There Any Uncommon Letters Today?

Common letters can be identified using the phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU; it’s a handy mnemonic to remember! Most of today’s letters fall under this category, with just one being a bit less common.

Can You Offer a Hint for Today’s Game?

It signifies an expression of feeling.

Are There Any Repeated Letters in Today’s Word?

Today’s word has no repeating letters.

Vocal Composition of Today’s Wordle

The word contains two vowels.

First Letter of Today’s Wordle?

It begins with the letter L.

Ending Letter of Today’s Wordle?

The word concludes with the letter H.

Today’s Wordle Solution

Here it is: the word is LAUGH.

Approach to Solving Today’s Puzzle

Commenced with RAISE and TOUCH, leading to LAUGH as the fitting resolution.

Wordle 1,394 3/6

Answer from Yesterday’s Wordle

Yesterday’s puzzle was simpler, with the hint being “associated with healthcare.” The answer featured five common letters.

The solution was NURSE.

Understanding Wordle Basics

The goal of Wordle is to uncover the word of the day. When you launch the game, you will see an empty letter grid, and it’s your turn to take the first shot by entering any five-letter guess.

Using the color feedback, you’ll gain insights into the solution: Green indicates a correctly positioned letter, Yellow shows that the letter is in the word but in the wrong spot, and Gray means the letter is absent from the answer. For instance, guessing PARTY when the correct word is PURSE will yield green for P and R.

• Yellow indicates the letter is present but misplaced. E.g., if the word is ROAST, then guessing PARTY offers yellow for R, A, and T.

• Gray signifies that the letter isn’t part of the answer. If all letters are gray, such as in PARTY, then the answer isn’t PURSE or ROAST.

Armed with these clues, keep guessing until you unveil the right term within six attempts, as that marks the end of the game.

Optimal Starting Words for Wordle

What should you try as your initial guess? The most effective words usually contain frequently used letters, boosting your chances of receiving yellow and green prompts. Even if all your guessed common letters yield gray, this is still valuable data for narrowing down selections. While there isn’t a singular “best” first word, the New York Times’s Wordle analysis bot recommends starting with these:

• CRANE

• TRACE

• SLANT

• CRATE

• CARTE

Additionally, research from MIT suggests that the following starters eliminate most possibilities in the first round:

• SALET

• REAST

• TRACE

• CRATE

• SLATE

Other strong contenders might include ARISE or ROUND. While words like ADIEU or AUDIO introduce more vowels, starting with a consonant-focused approach using RENTS or CLAMP may be advantageous depending on your strategy.

Winning Strategies for Wordle

For those dedicated to mastering Wordle, a few strategic insights can be helpful. This guide explains how to leverage consonants effectively, while this article emphasizes using the most frequently found letters. For a more rigorous approach, check out this advanced strategy that outlines a method for gleaning hints while swiftly advancing towards a solution.

A significant distinction between winning and losing in Wordle lies in how players maximize their guesses to identify letters in the target word. For instance, you would not want to squander guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND if you’ve determined the word must end with -OUND. Instead, combining remaining consonants in a guess like MARSH might yield more useful information, especially if H lights up yellow.

It’s worth noting that the original Wordle featured a limited list of around 2,300 potential solutions. However, after its acquisition by the NYT, the game now has curated solutions, which may include less common or topical words, highlighting the importance of staying adaptable.

Exploring Wordle Alternatives

If the allure of five-letter challenges excites you, consider these top alternatives to Wordle, categorized by their difficulty levels:

• Wheeldle, which allows consecutive puzzles

• Dordle and Quordle, where you solve two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles simultaneously. For even greater challenges, check out Octordle (eight puzzles) and Sedecordle (sixteen puzzles).

• Waffle, which involves swapping letters within a grid of scrambled five-letter words until solved.

• Absurdle, where the solution changes with each guess, requiring strategic reasoning to find the last possible word that remains consistent with previous hints.

• Squabble, a competitive version where players guess against each other under time constraints—spending too much time results in damage, with the last player standing emerging victorious.

• Antiwordle, a game where the goal is to avoid guessing the day’s correct word. Players must reuse letters they’ve already guessed, which makes taking longer a beneficial strategy.