Wordle is a web-based word game that was developed by Josh Wardle, a software engineer from Wales. In this game, players are required to find five-letter words and use them to fill in the blank spaces.
Players get a total of six guesses before they run out of chances to play. That means if you make six guesses incorrectly, you have to wait until the next day to participate again.
The game has become so popular that approximately 300,000 people participate on a daily basis. However, winning in this game is not always a walk in the park.
That is why having a look at the 25 best Wordle strategies can be key to improving and even creating an impressive winning streak.
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Best Wordle Strategies
1. Think of the start word
One of the most important things to keep in mind is that your start word can determine how much success you achieve. Getting the start word wrong is almost certainly going to mean you’ll lose the game.
In certain cases, people use different start words for each game but that may still be a problem. The key to getting the start word right is realizing that it should contain some of the most common letters in English words.
For instance, most English words are likely to contain the letters A or E as opposed to the letter Z or X. The following order represents the most commonly used letters to the least commonly used letters.
E, T, A, I, N, O, S, H, R, D, L, U, C, M, F, W, Y, G, P, B, V, K, Q, J, X, and Z. Your first word should therefore consist more of the letters that fall within the first half of the order.
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2. Don’t be afraid to try
As a player, you may think of a word and then dismiss it because it just doesn’t sound right in your head. However, there is a real possibility that the word you have thought of is right, but you just don’t know it yet.
That is why players are often encouraged to try guessing answers. Remember that Wordle will not accept anything that is not a real English word.
You can therefore make as many tries as possible without running the risk of decreasing chances. The only time that Wordle will register your answer as a guess is when the word actually exists in the English dictionary.
And even with that, you still get five more tries meaning you are not likely to lose easily. When you make random guesses of five-letter words, you may be surprised to get something that is a real word you don’t even know about.
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3. Avoid the S trap
While you may know of many words that end with the letter S, the truth is that not many words on Wordle end with that letter. First, you need to understand that words in this game are handpicked.
Second, a study published in the Art of Problem Solving/AoPS shows that only 2% of words in Wordle end with the letter S. That means if you keep forming words that end with that letter, chances are that you are soon going to run into trouble.
On the flip side, the same study shows that over 15% of Wordle words start with the letter S. With that in mind, you should try and think of more words that start with the letter S than those that end with it.
It is equally important to note that most words that end with the letter S are plurals. So one of the things you need to do is limit the number of tries you make with plural words.
That can help reduce the chances of having your words recorded as guesses.
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4. Understand common words
Instead of simply making random guesses when playing, you need to understand some of the most common words. Luckily, there are several resources that have done the hard work for you and all you have to do is pick one word from such resources.
According to many of those resources, some of the most common words are ROATE, RAISE, RAILE, SOARE, ARISE, IRATE, ORATE, ARIEL, AROSE, and RAINE.
These are words that you are likely to come up with when you combine the most common consonants with different vowels. The list of words helps ensure that your guesses are closely matched with the right answer.
It also helps you save time when playing your Wordle game.
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5. Use distinct words on the first two guesses
Most players tend to make more than two guesses before they find the right first word. However, if you make your first guess and find two or three letters right, you can easily go ahead and switch up the vowels and consonants of the pending two words.
If your first-word guess does not reveal any correct letters, the most appropriate thing to do is to go for a completely different word. A distinct word has letters that are totally different from the first guess you made.
If you get a couple of yellow letters on your first guess, it may be prudent for you to use them in your second guess. However, try and use the letters in different positions rather than leaving them where they are.
If you find successful green letters on your first guess, make sure you use them on your second guess. These tips can help you save time and increase your chances of getting the correct answer.
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6. Prioritize vowels when eliminating
As noted earlier, the most commonly used letters are vowels. However, they are also fewer letters when compared to consonants.
This is a good thing for Wordle players because it’s an excellent way to form a strategy. When you make a word and it doesn’t seem to fit right, you can always switch up the vowels to see what happens.
Once you have eliminated the vowels, you can go ahead and start inserting consonants into the missing places and watch what happens. If you start the elimination process haphazardly, you may end up spending a lot of time trying to figure out one word.
It is also a bad idea to start the process of elimination with consonants because it will be a tedious and time-consuming exercise.
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7. Write it down
A lot of people tend to visualize words in their minds before entering them into the puzzle. But this strategy is not always sound because you do not get the true picture.
Instead of just imagining the word and then entering it straight off the bat, consider writing it down first. In fact, you can go ahead and write down a couple of words before deciding which of them is most suitable.
Remember, entering words directly from your mind into the puzzle can lead to mishaps. Wordle can even consider some of your words as guesses and that reduces your chances of getting an overall win.
Ardent players of Wordle often write down several words and then they look at each word with the above-mentioned points in mind. This helps them make more appropriate decisions.
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8. Watch out for words with the same letters
One of the things that present a challenge to Wordle players is that they fail to realize that some words have the same letter twice or thrice.
For instance, the letter E may appear at the start of a word and then reappear toward the end of the word. The same can be said about the letters L, S, and O.
These words tend to be tricky because your mind is not thinking of them like that. However, if you find a word that has these letters toward the start, it’s a good idea to keep an open mind and try using the same letters in other positions.
Examples of such words include Apart, Algae, Cease, Allow, Chill, and Wheel.
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9. Get an actual word list
Instead of depending on your mind only to come up with answers to Wordle, go ahead and get a list of five-letter words. Of course, you can always create your own list by doing some research online.
Simply use Google to find as many five-letter words as possible. Alternatively, you can visit websites that compile lists of five-letter words.
Best Word List is one of the best resources for you to think about. It has a comprehensive list of five-letter words that can come in handy when your mind cannot figure out what to enter into the puzzle.
It also goes ahead to give you several possible combinations of letters to make your work easy. While using the resource, you can filter your word searches according to specific parameters and that can end up saving you a lot of time.
However, the use of these lists should come into play when you just can’t seem to figure out what to use in the puzzle.
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10. Start with standard mode
Wordle is meant to be an exciting and enjoyable game. Not something that makes you feel like you are facing the most difficult challenge in the world.
That is why it is a good idea for beginners to avoid going for the hard mode. Instead, play the standard mode.
The standard mode has more common combinations and simple words and that can help stimulate your mental senses. It is also a rewarding mode because you are likely to secure wins after a few tries.
If you go directly to the hard mode, chances are that you will lose after a few tries and that can kill your interest in the game. It is only after you win a couple of times in standard mode that you will feel comfortable enough to progress to the hard mode.
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11. Positioning of letters is important
When playing Wordle, you should also consider the likelihood of certain letters appearing at the start and at the end of a word.
The most common letter to appear at the start of words in this game is S. On the other hand, the most common letter to appear at the end of words in the game is E.
It is therefore important for you to start your guessing with those two letters in the said positions. Fill in the middle letters as you deem fit.
An exam[ple of how you can use these letters can be in the form of words like Stare, Saute, Salve, Scare, Scale, and Sauce.
When thinking of letter positioning, you need to realize that vowels tend to appear in the middle of words more than they do at the start and at the end. Another critical thing to know is that vowels are likely to appear next to consonants rather than other vowels.
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12. There’s no need to hurry
Many times people enter words into the puzzle and then click the enter button without really considering the likelihood of being right. These mistakes are purely out of sloppiness or the need to get the puzzle done fast.
Instead of taking that route, enter your words and then take some time to consider the possibility of it being right. Remember that Wordle does not have any time limits so you should not be making guesses simply to get it done.
To increase your chances of winning, spend some time thinking of the words you want to enter. If you feel exhausted, take a break because it will not only rejuvenate your body but your mind as well.
13. Try multiple solutions first
There are times when you think of a word and it just seems to fit the puzzle. In cases like that, a lot of people end up entering the word straight into the puzzle and hitting the enter button.
After the action, they realize that the word is not right and it reduces the number of tries they have left. No matter how fitting a word seems to be, take the time to consider if there are other solutions.
Try coming up with alternative words before you enter your first guess. This will help ensure that you reduce the chances of getting a wrong answer.
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14. Letter combinations can help
While you may know about the most common letters and the order in which most appear in words, you may not be aware of the most common letter combinations.
There are certain letters in the English language that tend to appear next to each other. There are also certain letters that hardly ever appear next to each other.
For instance, CH, ST, and ER tend to appear next to each other in different words. However, letters such as FJ and VY hardly ever appear together in any word.
With that in mind, you can easily determine if the word you are thinking of is going to make sense. Whenever you see unlikely combinations, you should know chances are that the word you are forming is incorrect.
Whenever you see the common combinations, you can go ahead and flesh out your word. If you are unsure about common letter combinations, take advantage of online resources such as Mechanical Scribe to do your research.
15. Go for common consonants early
Another thing to keep in mind is that there are certain consonants that tend to appear in words. Three of the most common of these are R, S, and T.
Others are L and N. With that in mind, it is prudent for you to prefer these consonants early on when trying to figure out your words.
Chances of less common consonants appearing at the start of the game are minimal but not impossible. On that note, keep in mind that some of the most uncommon constants include J, X, and Z.
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16. Try a different word every day
Instead of using the same word to start the game every day, why not try and mix things up? You don’t even have to stick to the common words mentioned in this article.
You can go ahead and come up with your own creative words. Restricting yourself to researched words may increase your chances of success but at the same time, it may negate the level of fun you derive from the game.
Remember that nothing can beat the feeling of knowing you got your first word right by sheer luck or your own ingenuity.
17. Understand the colors
As a beginner, you probably know little to nothing about Wordle. That is why it is prudent to get acquainted with the meanings of the colors that appear when you enter a word.
Green means you have the right letter in the right box. Yellow means you have the right letter but in the wrong box and Grey means the letter does not make up any part of the word.
Once you enter your first word, you’ll notice these colors appearing. What you then have to do is leave the greens in place and consider switching up the yellows to form a new word.
At the same time, you need to eliminate the grey letters completely.
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18. Avoid names and locations
Sometimes you look at the Wordle puzzle and what comes to mind seems like a name or a location.
The truth is that most of the time, this puzzle does not include names or places. Instead of going for such things simply stick to words that can be used in sentences.
19. Don’t be afraid to use the same letter twice
Sometimes words contain the same letters twice. Instead of having the same letter appear at the start of the word and toward the end, some words have the same letters appear together.
For instance, words such as Alley, Greet, Belly, Taboo, Taffy, and Tummy have the same letters that appear together. If you are afraid to try such words, you may never find the solution you want.
20. Don’t forget less popular letters
Earlier on we determined that your best bet is to use popular letters to form your words rather than going for less popular letters.
That does not mean you should ignore them altogether. If you are unable to form a word with the popular letters, start considering the less popular ones.
Query is a word that uses the less popular letters yet can be a common word used by people every day.
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21. Practice with other word games
Regardless of the word game you pick, you are always going to exercise your mind and improve your personal vocabulary.
It is therefore important for you to play other word games just so you become sharper when playing Wordle. Examples of alternatives include Scrabble and Wordscapes.
22. Wordle utilizes U.S. English
Despite the developer of Wordle being a UK citizen and even speaking UK English, the puzzle itself utilizes American English.
Of course, that means that people from the U.S. may not have too much of a problem when playing. However, those from countries with other forms of spelling may need to consider that fact and act accordingly.
23. Monitor your statistics
Individuals that don’t check their statistics won’t know how well they’re doing. That is why keeping an eye on your stats is important.
By understanding how many guesses you make and how well you do with the tips and strategies mentioned above, you’ll get better over time.
If something is not working, you can make the necessary adjustments and if another thing is working, you can improve on it.
24. Know your best gaming time
Some people play Wordle extremely well when they are relaxed and sipping on a cup of coffee while others excel when they are feeling stressed and want something to relax them.
The game can serve as a way to help you relax or a way to just pass the time. Understanding your personality will help you do well.
25. Have fun with it
Always remember that Wordle is not a do-or-die challenge. It is just a game. And even if you get your six guesses wrong, there is always the opportunity to start afresh the next day.
Wrapping Up
The above-mentioned tips are some of the best Wordle strategies you can use to achieve success. You can use all of them or choose a few to help you improve.
Remember to have fun and savor your little victories because they will inspire you to move from the standard mode to the hard mode.
