Wordle
Instructions, tips and tricks for the online letter puzzle
© wachiwit / Adobe Stock
Five letters, six attempts: The Wordle letter puzzle has already achieved cult status on the internet. How the game works – and which tips and tricks give you the best chances.
Wordle is as simple as it is ingenious – and that’s exactly why the viral hit game has achieved cult status in a very short time. The letter puzzle emerged during the corona pandemic and apparently hit the nerve of the times during lockdown and social distancing phases – after all, most of us have spent a lot of time on the (smartphone) screen anyway. The idea for the guessing game came from a software engineer from Brooklyn in New York: Josh Wardle actually only developed the simple puzzle to make his girlfriend happy with it. Then he released Wordle to the public, and within a few months hundreds of thousands of people were puzzling along every day. In January 2022, Josh Wardle then sold his invention to the US newspaper “New York Times” – according to “tagesschau.de” for a low seven-digit amount.
The concept and design of the game are extremely minimalistic, but that is exactly the recipe for success. And since there is only one new puzzle every day, we can hardly wait after playing until the next game is online the next morning. In addition, Wordle activates the reward system in our brain through the clever game mode. This starts when we guess correctly in the letter game.
How exactly does Wordle work?
The game principle of Wordle is quickly explained:
- you have total Six tries to guess a five letter word.
- The terms to be guessed can be singular or plural nouns, as well as adjectives or verbs. Umlauts can also occur, but in the two-letter variant, i.e. “AE, “OE” AND “UE”.
- The first attempt at guessing is completely blind, then you feel your way forward using the right and wrong letters from the first word. If a letter is correct and in the right place, the box turns green after guessing. If the letter appears in the word but is not in the correct position, the box turns yellow. And if the letter does not appear in the target word at all, the box turns gray.
- After each attempt, use the yellow letters and those you haven’t tried yet to feel your way forward and try out new combinations.
- If you haven’t managed to guess the solution word after six tries, you lose. If you can do it earlier, the fewer attempts you need, the better the performance.
- Don’t panic: If a word doesn’t exist – or it’s not stored in the Wordle lexicon – you’ll get a corresponding message and don’t lose any attempts.
- Every day you can solve a letter puzzle – after that you have to wait again until the next morning for the new game to be released.
- At the end of the puzzle you will be asked to share your result via social media – but of course you don’t have to.
- The original game is in English, which means that an English term is guessed. But there are now also numerous German versions of Wordle.
Where can I play Wordle?
Wordle is an online game that you can play in your internet browser. The puzzle does not yet exist as a separate app. As already mentioned, the original puzzle is in English, you can find it on the “New York Times” website. You can play German versions on various sites, including those with the slightly different name “Wördle”.
Tips and tricks for the online guessing game
Since so many people puzzle along every day and want to guess today’s Wordle, there is now one Lots of tips for the best and fastest solution. Some of the best tips for the letter guessing game include:
1. The best Wordle starter word
In order to increase the chances of guessing the right term as quickly as possible, the optimal start word is worth its weight in gold. It’s a good idea to start a new game with a word that contains the most common letters in each language – then the probability is highest that at least some letters are actually contained in the solution word. For the English Wordle, the following terms are well suited as a start word:
- ADIEU
- ARISE
- ROATE
- SEARE
- SOARE
In the German version, for example, you can start your game with these words:
- ADIEU
- AGENT
- RITES
- STAR
- OWNERS
2. Better no double letters
You should avoid doubling the start word, such as “ESSEN” or “DELLE”, because with the double letter you give away the opportunity to guess another correct letter.
3. Avoid rare letters
You should also keep your hands off very rare letters when trying your wordle for the first time. These include – by the way in German as in English – X, Y, Z or Q.
4. Common letter combinations increase the chances
A good tip for solving the word puzzle faster are common combinations of two letters each. In German, for example, ST, EU or IE are common, as are (S)CH or CK.
5th insider tip: Leave out the green letters
Also, an absolute pro tip for Wordle is this one: if we’ve guessed one or more letters correctly and those boxes are green, we tend to use the correct letter or letters the same way the next time we try. However, those who are still at the beginning of the game are better off with the strategy of omitting these letters and preferring to test new ones. This means that you can guess more correct letters in less time and ultimately get to the solution word faster. In the first three attempts, it is best not to double-type any letters, but only start to form the solution word with the correct letters from attempt four.
Sources used: br.de, eurogamer.de, mashable.com, ctnet.com, stuttgarter-nachrichten.de, tagesschau.de