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If you’re stuck on a specific Wordle, start with the least revealing help that will get you moving: a staged hint if you want to keep solving, or a solver if you want candidate words that fit your board. Wordle allows six guesses; enter each green, yellow and gray tile exactly, and double-check repeated letters before trusting the result.
Choose how much help you want
There are two useful approaches: reveal a clue gradually, or feed your board’s feedback into a Wordle solver. Both options below are independent third-party tools, not official New York Times products.
For a hint without spoiling the answer
fwordle describes a hint ladder that starts with a riddle or category and becomes more direct: clues can include the first letter, vowel count, stronger hints and the last letter, with the answer at the end. Its FAQ says the answer reveal requires confirmation. Reveal one clue at a time and stop as soon as you have enough.
For words that fit your tiles
HelpWordle asks you to enter fixed green letters, present-but-misplaced yellow letters and excluded gray letters, then submit for suggested words. fwordle also describes a solver that filters its answer list. Its analysis mode shows how many candidates remain; its solution mode lists candidate words. Use a candidate list as a way to reason about your next guess, not as proof that any one suggestion is today’s answer.
#1 Best Overall
Enter the board accurately
- Record the exact feedback. Green means the letter is correct and in the correct position. Yellow means the letter is in the answer but in another position. Gray means the letter is absent. The NYT Game Solver explains these colors and notes that answers can repeat letters.
- Check repeated letters before entering constraints. Tile patterns can be easy to misread when a guess contains a letter more than once. Compare every tile with the tool’s fields; a missed yellow or incorrectly entered gray can distort the candidate list or leave it empty.
- Use the candidates to choose a legal, informative guess. A word that tests several fresh letters may be useful even if it is not itself a likely answer, but only if your game mode allows it.
Account for Hard Mode
In Hard Mode, previously revealed information must be used in subsequent guesses. That rules out a throwaway probe that ignores known green or yellow clues. In regular mode, a fresh-letter probe can sometimes help distinguish remaining possibilities; its value depends on the candidates left and the guesses you have available. The NYT Game Solver describes this distinction.
Starting words: choose a method, not a universal winner
There is no universally stable best opener established by the sources cited here. Recommendations vary with the answer list, scoring method, familiarity of the word, whether you prioritize vowels or consonants, and whether you play Hard Mode.
Rank #2
Tom’s Guide, updated September 2, 2026, reports that one analysis of 12,972 possible guesses favored SOARE, ROATE and RAISE. Its discussion of NYT WordleBot also notes recommendations that changed over time and differed by mode. By contrast, the NYT Game Solver gives a general heuristic: choose five distinct, common letters, including at least two vowels. These are different source-specific approaches, not an official ranking that applies to every player.
- An information-seeking opener can help separate candidates, but it may not itself be an answer.
- An opener chosen from the answer list preserves the possibility of solving immediately, but may test fewer strategically useful letters.
Published algorithm results are not a forecast of an individual player’s score. A 2022 paper, “Using Wordle for Learning to Design and Compare Strategies,” reports 3.674 average guesses and a 0.65% failure rate for its best tested algorithm across a simulated set of 2,315 answers. Under the paper’s simulator, its baseline recorded 4.078 average guesses and a 1.77% failure rate. Those figures describe that study’s simulation, not human play or the current daily answer list.
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The NYT Help Center says WordleBot and companion analysis tools require an eligible NYT Games or All Access subscription. That applies to those analysis features; it does not mean a subscription is required to play Wordle. If you only need a nudge or candidate words for a puzzle in progress, the independent tools above are alternatives.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A separate option for playing with other people
Wordle: The Party Game is Hasbro’s licensed tabletop adaptation for two to four players aged 14 and up. It includes dry-erase boards and markers, with several play variants. It is a social word-game activity, not a tool for solving the current daily puzzle. Hasbro announced the product with the New York Times in 2022: announcement.
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