Playing Wordle: The Basics

You can find Wordle here on the New York Times website, where a new puzzle becomes available each day at midnight in your local timezone.

Your first step is to guess a word consisting of five letters. The colors that appear will help guide your next guesses: letters turn green if they are correct and in the right spot, yellow if they are in the word but in the wrong location, or gray if they do not appear in the word at all. If you want to learn more, explore our comprehensive guide or my advanced strategy tips. (Additional information can be found at the end of this article, following the hints and answers.)

Ready to dive into some hints? Let’s begin!

Are There Any Uncommon Letters in Today’s Wordle?

Common letters are defined according to the traditional typesetter’s phrase, ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Remember this—pronounce it like “Edwin Shirdloo,” as if he’s a friend of yours.) Today’s word features familiar letters indeed!

Could You Provide a Hint for Today’s Wordle?

Think about a specific genre of film.

Has Today’s Wordle Any Repeated Letters?

Yes, one letter appears more than once in today’s word.

How Many Vowels Are in Today’s Wordle?

There are two vowels in total, one of which is repeated.

What Is the Starting Letter of Today’s Wordle?

The word begins with the letter ‘I’.

What Is the Final Letter of Today’s Wordle?

The word concludes with the letter ‘E’.

What Is the Answer to Today’s Wordle?

Drumroll, please. Today’s solution is INDIE.

My Approach to Solving Today’s Wordle

My process began with the guesses RAISE, TOUCH, and BLIND, leading to INDIE as the most fitting option.

Wordle 1,340 4/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛🟩
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
        

Answer for Yesterday’s Wordle

Yesterday’s puzzle was easier, with the hint being “something you’d find in the mountains,” and the word consisted of five familiar letters.

The answer to yesterday’s Wordle was TRAIL.

Introduction to Wordle Essentials

The objective of Wordle is to unveil the secret word of the day. Upon opening the game, players are greeted with a blank grid of letters. Your first move involves entering any five-letter word.

The colors that emerge offer hints: Green indicates a correct letter in its exact place. For instance, if you guess PARTY and the word is PURSE, the P and R will be highlighted in green.

• Yellow suggests that the letter exists in the target word but is positioned incorrectly. For example, if PARTY is guessed but the word is actually ROAST, then R, A, and T will turn yellow.
• Gray indicates that the letter does not appear in the solution at all. If PARTY results in gray letters, the answer cannot be either PURSE or ROAST.

Utilizing these clues, continue guessing until identifying the correct word, including a maximum of six tries before running out of options.

Optimal Starting Words for Wordle

Which word should you select for your initial guess? The most effective starting words usually consist of commonly used letters, increasing the likelihood of obtaining yellow or green feedback squares. Even if you receive all grays when opting for common letters, that information is still valuable for eliminating possibilities. While there’s no definitive “best” first word, suggestions from the New York Times’s Wordle analysis bot point to:

• CRANE
• TRACE
• SLANT
• CRATE
• CARTE

Meanwhile, an MIT study revealed that starting with specific words helps eliminate the most options from the outset:

• SALET
• REAST
• TRACE
• CRATE
• SLATE

Other effective choices include ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU and AUDIO introduce more vowels, yet starting with a focus on consonants through options like RENTS or CLAMP could be another approach. Choose your strategy and see how effective it becomes.

Winning Strategies for Wordle

Numerous guides provide insights into Wordle tactics, which can be beneficial for serious players. Visit this article to learn how to leverage consonants effectively, and check out this guide for strategies favoring common letters. For an advanced approach, this guide offers a three-step method to maximize your chances of winning swiftly.

The distinction between successful and unsuccessful players often lies in how winners utilize their guesses to gather information about which letters are included in the target word. If the word concludes with -OUND, avoid wasting guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND; instead, combine those consonants and consider a word like MARSH. If H appears as yellow, that information is crucial for solving.

Lastly, a note on strategy: while the original Wordle featured around 2,300 solutions, since its acquisition by the New York Times, the selection process is curated. This means answers may include slightly tricky words not in the previous list and could also be themed. For instance, a past solution was FEAST during Thanksgiving.

Alternatives to Wordle

If five-letter guessing games are your thing, here are the best alternatives, ranked by difficulty:

• Wheeldle, which allows continuous gameplay with multiple puzzles.
• Dordle and Quordle, where players solve two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles simultaneously using the same guesses. There’s also Octordle and Sedecordle, which offer even more challenges.
• Waffle, where players rearrange scrambled letters in a grid until they form valid five-letter words.
• Absurdle, which changes the secret word with each guess, yet remains consistent with the feedback given previously, requiring strategic plays to narrow down to only one answer.
• Squabble, where players compete against others under a time limit, incurring points for taking too long between guesses, with the last player remaining being declared the winner.
• Antiwordle, where you aim to avoid guessing the day’s target word. The game requires reuse of any letters you correctly guessed, making the longer your game, the better you are becoming at it.