Playing Wordle: A Quick Guide

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

Begin by proposing any five-letter word as your guess. Letters will be color-coded: green indicates correct letters in the right position, yellow signifies a correct letter but in the wrong spot, and gray denotes letters that do not appear in the puzzle solution at all. To delve deeper, check out our comprehensive guide on playing Wordle as well as this advanced strategy guide for additional insights. (Further information is available at the end of this article, following the hints and solution.)

Shall we dive into the hints? Here we go!

Are There Any Uncommon Letters in Today’s Wordle?

Common letters are identified using the old typesetters’ adage, ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Remember this! Pronounce it as “Edwin Shirdloo,” and envision him as a buddy of yours.)

Today’s Wordle features four common letters from this phrase, while the fifth letter is less frequently used.

Need a Hint for Today’s Wordle?

Think of a vacation activity.

Are There Any Double or Repeated Letters in Today’s Wordle?

No letters are repeated today.

How Many Vowels Can Be Found in Today’s Wordle?

There are two vowels present.

Which Letter Begins Today’s Wordle?

The word starts with the letter R.

Which Letter Concludes Today’s Wordle?

The final letter is X.

Today’s Wordle Solution Revealed

Are you ready? The answer is RELAX.

My Approach to Today’s Wordle

My first guesses were RAISE and CHANT, followed by PLEAD to explore likely consonants. The options left were REGAL, RELAY, or RELAX, and I ultimately chose the latter.

Wordle 1,295 4/6

🟩🟨⬛⬛🟨
⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛
⬛🟨🟨🟩⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

The Answer to Yesterday’s Wordle

Yesterday’s puzzle was comparatively straightforward. The hint was “something houses are not,” and it included three common letters and two fairly common letters.

The answer for yesterday’s Wordle was CHEAP.

Understanding the Basics of Wordle

The goal of Wordle is to deduce the day’s secret word. Upon starting the game, you will see an empty letter grid. The first move is entirely yours: enter any five-letter word.

Use the colors revealed to gather clues about your word: Green means the letter is correct and in the correct position. (For instance, guessing PARTY while the word is PURSE will highlight P and R in green.)

• Yellow indicates the letter exists in the word, but not in your guessed location. (For example, guessing PARTY with the word actually being ROAST will turn R, A, and T yellow.)

• Gray signifies the letter is absent in the solution word completely. (If PARTY results in all gray squares, solutions cannot be PURSE or ROAST.)

With this understanding, make successive guesses until you identify the correct word within six attempts, or the game ends.

Optimal Starter Words for Wordle

What would make the best initial guess? Effective starting words generally feature common letters, enhancing the chances of uncovering yellow and green squares to steer your next guesses. While there isn’t a definitive “best” starter, suggestions from the New York Times’s Wordle analysis bot include:

• CRANE

• TRACE

• SLANT

• CRATE

• CARTE

Additionally, findings from MIT indicate that starting with one of the following would eliminate the most possibilities during the first round:

• SALET

• REAST

• TRACE

• CRATE

• SLATE

Other effective options could be ARISE or ROUND. While guesses like ADIEU and AUDIO allow more vowels to be tested, one may argue starting with consonants is preferable, utilizing words like RENTS or CLAMP. Choose a strategic approach and observe the results.

Mastering Wordle: Tips for Success

For those eager to refine their Wordle skills, several detailed guides exist that cover various strategies. This one explains leveraging consonants for optimal results, whereas this strategy guide focuses on utilizing the most frequently occurring letters. An advanced guide outlines a comprehensive method for seeking hints while maximizing winning potential.

One key differentiator between Wordle winners and losers is that successful players effectively use their guesses to uncover information about letter placements. For instance, if you determine a word should end with -OUND, avoid wasting guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND. Instead, combine consonants and try a word like MARSH; if H turns yellow, you are closer to the answer.

One last strategic note: the original Wordle utilized a set of approximately 2,300 solution words. However, after its acquisition by the NYT, the game now features a curated list of solutions. Occasionally, these words may be less common or relate to current themes, such as FEAST being a solution during Thanksgiving. Keep this in mind as you play; themes might influence your strategy.

Exploring Alternatives to Wordle

For those who cannot get enough of five-letter guessing games and various derivatives, here are some of the best Wordle alternatives, curated based on difficulty:

• Wheeldle, where you can tackle one puzzle after another.

• Dordle and Quordle, which challenge you to solve two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles simultaneously using the same guesses. Additionally, there is Octordle, featuring eight puzzles, and Sedecordle, with 16.

• Waffle, which presents several five-letter words scrambled within a grid; you rearrange letters until you find the solution.

• Absurdle, which changes its solution after every guess, while needing to remain consistent with prior feedback. The objective is to strategically narrow it down until only one word is left to guess.

• Squabble, where you compete against others in Wordle with a timer ticking; time between guesses affects your performance, and the last player standing wins.

• Antiwordle, where your goal is not to guess the day’s solution. Make sure to reuse any correctly guessed letters, making longer attempts beneficial for your gameplay.