We're not even halfway through January, and 2022 has already produced its first hit game.
In case you haven't played, Wordle is the popular word puzzle game where users get six attempts to guess a five-letter word.
As you make a guess, the letters flip over in different colors. If it's gray, that letter isn't in the word. If it's yellow, the letter is in the word but not in the right place. A green letter means it's in the word, and in the right spot. A new puzzle is released each day.
Helping to drive its appeal is the ability to share how you performed in the daily puzzle on social media, most notably Twitter.
You can not only share how many tries it took you to guess the word but a grid of squares showing each step in your process.
►What is Wordle?:How to play the game that's taking over your social media timeline
►Who's got the most efficient laptops?:New Windows PCs up the ante vs. Apple
At this stage of Wordle's life, you're either in one or two camps: checking the Wordle website daily for a fresh new puzzle, or usingevery Twitter filter imaginable to rid your life of this game and the tweets overwhelming your feed.
If you're in the first camp, welcome. Here are some tips for getting better at Wordle.
Start with multi-vowel words
The more unique vowels your first word has, the better. Think of words like about, or alone, as examples. Getting the vowels figured out early can help you narrow down the correct word.
Process of elimination
Wordle is a lot like Wheel of Fortune in that it's best to start with the more common consonants first to help solve it. Try using words that have S, T, R, N, or other popular non-vowels. If you're using a lot of different letters in your first couple of guesses, it makes solving the puzzle a little easier.
Letters can be used twice
This is a tricky one because Wordle does not clearly indicate whether a word includes a letter used multiple times. One feature you'll notice on Wordle is it displays on the site's virtual keyboard the leftover letters you haven't tried yet. If you're not coming up with a word that makes sense, consider whether one of the eligible letters is in there more than once.
Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.
FAQs
Wordle is a lot like Wheel of Fortune in that it's best to start with the more common consonants first to help solve it. Try using words that have S, T, R, N, or other popular non-vowels. If you're using a lot of different letters in your first couple of guesses, it makes solving the puzzle a little easier.
What is the best 3 word start for Wordle? ›
So RATIO first, then MENDS, then LUCKY. That's it. With those three choices, you'll have slimmed down the list of possible letters to the point that figuring out the solution with your final guesses becomes significantly easier. It's not a surefire winning strategy for every day's puzzle.
How to solve Wordle in 3 tries? ›
Strategy for victory within three tries
Based on Figure 2, “slate” is the best initial guess. This means that it has the best chance of producing a win within 3 tries. The best second guess then depends on the pattern that Wordle returns after the first guess.
What is the best word to start the Wordle algorithm? ›
For a one seed strategy the best word is 'tales'. Using this word leads to success in over 95% of games with an average game length of 3.66 rounds. For a two seed word strategy; start with 'cones' and follow with 'trial'. They lead to success for just over 96% of target words with an average game length of 3.68 rounds.
What is the number 1 most used first word in Wordle? ›
By comparison, ADIEU — the most common starting word among Wordle players — trails TRACE by about a fifth of a guess, adding up to 74 extra turns for the bot over the course of a year. In addition to reader guesses, we rely on data sources like usage frequency in The New York Times.
What are the five magic words for Wordle? ›
Here are the 5 "Magic" Words that will help you solve Wordle more often than not. "Derby, flank, ghost, winch, jumps."
What is the hardest word to start with in Wordle? ›
Study: 10 hardest Wordle words of 2022
- Catch – 23%
- Watch – 20%
- Mummy – 18%
- Cater – 15%
- Coyly – 15%
- Trite – 15%
- Found – 14%
- Tacit – 10%
They are words that you know cannot be right but can prove useful by identifying or ruling out much needed letters before you... Kayode Adesimi. There's a difference between burner words and starter words. Many people have words they always start with, usually to determi...
What is the mathematically best starting word Wordle? ›
WordleBot rates SLATE as 99/100 for skill, the highest score it awards. However, it gives the same ranking to CRANE, CRATE, SLANT, TRACE and CARTE, so any of those six would be a great choice of Wordle starting word. Alternatively, researchers at MIT have calculated that the best word to start Wordle is SALET.
What is the best two word strategy in Wordle? ›
Wordle's First Two Words Can Be A Powerful Combo
- RAISE and DONUT.
- ROATE and SLING.
- SOUND and CRAMP.
Wordle's dictionary contains 2315 possible answers, so each possible colour combination from your first guess contributes a 1/2315 probability of getting the Wordle within two.
What is the most popular word used in Wordle? ›
Top 50 Wordle Words of 2022
- glyph.
- avert.
- axiom.
- tepid.
- adore.
- joust.
- naive.
- aorta.
Beat Wordle Every Time: The Best 5-Letter Words & Tricks
- Start with a word that has 3, 4, or 5 vowels.
- Use your second try to confirm as many letters as possible.
- Try our cheat sheet of the best Wordle words.
- Learn the most common letters and their positions.
- Consider common letter pairings.
We see from Figure 1 that “e” is the letter that is most frequently used (1,233 times in total), followed by “a”, “r”, “o”, “t”, “l”, “i”, “s”, “n”, “c”. The most frequently used letter in the first position is “s”, while the most frequently used letter in the second or third position is “a”.
What is the best 5 word start for Wordle today? ›
Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 2
- cheer.
- pause.
- legal.
- plate.
- error.
- smash.
- trade.
- burst.
The Top 10 First Word Guesses For Wordle
- SLATE.
- SLANE.
- STARE.
- SAICE.
- SANER.
- SNARE.
- RAILE.
- RAISE.
