Goodbye, ADIEU
December 17, 2023 1:57 PM Subscribe
It's a real weakness of Wordle what a big difference the starting word makes. Since I switched to SLATE I don't think I've ever run out of guesses. If I lose a streak it's because I forgot a day. I keep thinking I should just use random words to keep it more challenging but I'd feel like a chump losing my streak because my starting word was XYLYL.
posted by potrzebie at 2:31 PM on December 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by potrzebie at 2:31 PM on December 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
(Spoiler for today’s Wordle solution)
It is very funny that, in today’s Wordle, using the optimal starting word (“slate”) from this article results in no correct or present letters at all.
posted by Paragon at 2:38 PM on December 17, 2023 [8 favorites]
It is very funny that, in today’s Wordle, using the optimal starting word (“slate”) from this article results in no correct or present letters at all.
posted by Paragon at 2:38 PM on December 17, 2023 [8 favorites]
I was going to write a McSweeney's piece called "Words That Are Not the Answer to Today's Wordle" and it would just be a list of words like STOIL and KNORF.
posted by snofoam at 3:00 PM on December 17, 2023 [13 favorites]
posted by snofoam at 3:00 PM on December 17, 2023 [13 favorites]
8) If you start with the same word every day and share your scores with your best friend, don't tell her what your starting word is because then she'll use that to cheat* because she is a cheating cheater who cheats and you'll have to start using another word.
*but in her defense she'll tell you this the first and only time she does it because she's actually a decent person but you will still never let her live it down and you'd probably even bring it up on Metafilter but you're not that petty.
posted by bondcliff at 3:12 PM on December 17, 2023 [17 favorites]
*but in her defense she'll tell you this the first and only time she does it because she's actually a decent person but you will still never let her live it down and you'd probably even bring it up on Metafilter but you're not that petty.
posted by bondcliff at 3:12 PM on December 17, 2023 [17 favorites]
Wordle was really interesting to me at first as I puzzled out a strategy, and then settled into a zen exercise after I'd figured out a workflow. This article, the analysis of what we've all been doing, and the bot that is learning from our guesses really just put me off the whole thing. I mean I knew data was being collected, but it feels extra lab ratty now, yknow? I'll be in the corner with a pencil and my Penny Press cryptograms.
posted by apparently at 3:20 PM on December 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by apparently at 3:20 PM on December 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
My wife has solved it in two guesses seven times so far in December.
She's not amused by my accusations of cheating.
posted by Ickster at 3:28 PM on December 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
She's not amused by my accusations of cheating.
posted by Ickster at 3:28 PM on December 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
Wordle has to be about the easiest thing out there if you want to cheat, so I don't see the challenge.
I started making my own Wordle analyzer- WordleBob- about a year ago, and I go in every day to see how WordleBob does against WordleBot. (This year, Bob's ahead an average of about a quarter of a guess)
I also have a list of 20 words I chose to test as starting words for that day's target, and ADIEU always ranks in last place over any average week.
My wife has solved it in two guesses seven times so far in December.
Does she start with SLATE? It's been a good month for SLATE.
posted by MtDewd at 3:30 PM on December 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
I started making my own Wordle analyzer- WordleBob- about a year ago, and I go in every day to see how WordleBob does against WordleBot. (This year, Bob's ahead an average of about a quarter of a guess)
I also have a list of 20 words I chose to test as starting words for that day's target, and ADIEU always ranks in last place over any average week.
My wife has solved it in two guesses seven times so far in December.
Does she start with SLATE? It's been a good month for SLATE.
posted by MtDewd at 3:30 PM on December 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
I got bored with it but then I always started with CRATE (not CRANE) and apparently improved my odds. I prefer Spelling Bee, at which I cheat assiduously because I do it first thing in the morning while waiting for the coffee to kick in.
posted by Peach at 3:38 PM on December 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Peach at 3:38 PM on December 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
I started getting bored using strategic first words, so I will use whatever random word pops into my head first. (It sometimes ends up being a word from the daily mini crossword puzzle or Connections if I played that right before.) I've gotten a second guess solve twice in the last month, which I'm pretty proud of myself for!
posted by Pryde at 3:46 PM on December 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Pryde at 3:46 PM on December 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
No love for"crypt" which is my favorite starter.
posted by Thrakburzug at 3:54 PM on December 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Thrakburzug at 3:54 PM on December 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
Of all the wordle derivatives, the only one I still play is squardle
It takes a bit of getting used to, but it's a better puzzle fit for my brain.
posted by Acari at 3:59 PM on December 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
It takes a bit of getting used to, but it's a better puzzle fit for my brain.
posted by Acari at 3:59 PM on December 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
"Space" used to be my starting word but then it was the solution one day so I've switched to "train" which has made things harder but still reasonable.
Speaking of Connections, there are two modes: "tricky but also sort of obvious" and "I will never figure it out ever." There is no in-between.
posted by edencosmic at 4:29 PM on December 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
Speaking of Connections, there are two modes: "tricky but also sort of obvious" and "I will never figure it out ever." There is no in-between.
posted by edencosmic at 4:29 PM on December 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
Not quite a wordle-derivative, but for the past month or so I've been playing Middles, a daily word game by Mefi's own novalis_dt (who also made Semantle, one of the early wordle-likes).
You're presented with the middle of a word, and can, at your leisure, guess the letter that either follows or precedes what you have so far, with each incorrect guess costing you a point. Notably, you don't know the length of the full word (despite, at first glance, the design possibly appearing to communicate that there might be just one missing letter at either end, which threw me the first time I played).
Some days end up very easy (in which case you can identify the word right off the bat) and some days can be very tricky (in which case you might ponder for a while before taking a stab at what might be a plausible letter in one of the two spots, after which your brain might better congeal on the full answer). Today's, I think, was one of the easy ones.
posted by nobody at 4:31 PM on December 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
You're presented with the middle of a word, and can, at your leisure, guess the letter that either follows or precedes what you have so far, with each incorrect guess costing you a point. Notably, you don't know the length of the full word (despite, at first glance, the design possibly appearing to communicate that there might be just one missing letter at either end, which threw me the first time I played).
Some days end up very easy (in which case you can identify the word right off the bat) and some days can be very tricky (in which case you might ponder for a while before taking a stab at what might be a plausible letter in one of the two spots, after which your brain might better congeal on the full answer). Today's, I think, was one of the easy ones.
posted by nobody at 4:31 PM on December 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
When Wordle first gained popularity I realized it was basically Word Mastermind. My family used to play it all the time at restaurants while waiting for our order. We didn't need the tiles, just paper and pencil.
My starting word is SCENT, which WordleBot tells me is used by fewer than 0.1% of all Wordle players. Skill level 93. My philosophy has been that vowels are over-rated. I bid ADIEU to vowels. In languages like Hebrew, you don't even spell out the vowels, just fill them in once you've figured out the consonants.
With SCENT, I have 3 common letters that are commonly followed by H. SH, CH, and TH. So I deny WordleBot's frequentist "Skill" scores sometimes because I'm guessing with a prior. If S, C, or T is in the word I follow it with H in the next guess. Also if E is in the wrong place, perhaps it's a silent E at the end. (Which SLATE would have clued me into but better to be unique!) When I strike out in the first guess WordleBot tells me there are 551 words still possible, but my backup second guess is usually very strong: BROAD. My maximum streak was 182 Wordles completed consecutively.
posted by Schmucko at 4:31 PM on December 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
My starting word is SCENT, which WordleBot tells me is used by fewer than 0.1% of all Wordle players. Skill level 93. My philosophy has been that vowels are over-rated. I bid ADIEU to vowels. In languages like Hebrew, you don't even spell out the vowels, just fill them in once you've figured out the consonants.
With SCENT, I have 3 common letters that are commonly followed by H. SH, CH, and TH. So I deny WordleBot's frequentist "Skill" scores sometimes because I'm guessing with a prior. If S, C, or T is in the word I follow it with H in the next guess. Also if E is in the wrong place, perhaps it's a silent E at the end. (Which SLATE would have clued me into but better to be unique!) When I strike out in the first guess WordleBot tells me there are 551 words still possible, but my backup second guess is usually very strong: BROAD. My maximum streak was 182 Wordles completed consecutively.
posted by Schmucko at 4:31 PM on December 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
Shouldn't the title of this thread really be "Farewell, ADIEU...." ?
posted by gingerbeer at 4:46 PM on December 17, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by gingerbeer at 4:46 PM on December 17, 2023 [7 favorites]
Not sure how people feel about the NYT around here, but is there any way to get around the paywall? I see a lot of their articles on this site and can never read them :(
posted by donuy at 4:49 PM on December 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by donuy at 4:49 PM on December 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
I like trying to think up difficult starting words and switching them up. Clump, think, plank, nymph, chump, etc. Not too ridiculous (e.g. fluff), but enough to make it fun.
I realize my definition of "fun" is not universal.
posted by kyrademon at 4:49 PM on December 17, 2023 [7 favorites]
I realize my definition of "fun" is not universal.
posted by kyrademon at 4:49 PM on December 17, 2023 [7 favorites]
Thinking about it, determining the vowels is the least important part for me. Maybe having one or two in the starting word helps (or zero, too) but eliminating consonants feels more important. Vowels I can add in once I know where certain consonants can fall.
So I'm actually not surprised"adieu" isn't actually that great of a word to start with.
posted by edencosmic at 4:53 PM on December 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
So I'm actually not surprised"adieu" isn't actually that great of a word to start with.
posted by edencosmic at 4:53 PM on December 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
I have mixed feelings about the NYT at best, but they have some good puzzles.
They also offer Tiles.
I said what I said.
posted by box at 4:59 PM on December 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
They also offer Tiles.
I said what I said.
posted by box at 4:59 PM on December 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
I’ve started using SHART as my starting word because I’m 12 and it makes me giggle.
posted by Eddie Mars at 5:18 PM on December 17, 2023 [12 favorites]
posted by Eddie Mars at 5:18 PM on December 17, 2023 [12 favorites]
In the 90s I failed to invent MtG.
That's nothing. I completely failed to invent both Sarah Palin and Lauren Boebert.
posted by Calvin and the Duplicators at 5:19 PM on December 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
That's nothing. I completely failed to invent both Sarah Palin and Lauren Boebert.
posted by Calvin and the Duplicators at 5:19 PM on December 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
Not sure how people feel about the NYT around here, but is there any way to get around the paywall? I see a lot of their articles on this site and can never read them :(
Your local libraries may give you free access. Another method to read the articles is to subscribe to the New York Times, so that the people whose work you're interested in can get paid for it.
posted by one for the books at 6:14 PM on December 17, 2023 [7 favorites]
Your local libraries may give you free access. Another method to read the articles is to subscribe to the New York Times, so that the people whose work you're interested in can get paid for it.
posted by one for the books at 6:14 PM on December 17, 2023 [7 favorites]
With an optimized starting word, it's too easy. I guess a different word, just something off the top of my head, every day. I like trying to eliminate as many weirdo letters as possible, and then the game becomes making a word out of what's left. I don't usually share my results, but when I do, it's like
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨
⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
and people are like, "The heck!"
posted by BrashTech at 6:16 PM on December 17, 2023 [11 favorites]
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨
⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
and people are like, "The heck!"
posted by BrashTech at 6:16 PM on December 17, 2023 [11 favorites]
Wordle changed something in its code about four months ago that borked its display in landscape orientation on my old iPad. Now, the gamefield is pushed up under the header and the keyboard overlaps the bottom two rows. If I rotate the iPad to portrait orientation, it displays correctly. So, I’m guessing when it sniffs “iOS” it’s exclusively expecting a phone, not a tablet?
I contacted the game’s support and...well...they were pretty useless.
I still enjoy the game. It’s a nice little thing to do over breakfast.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:16 PM on December 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
I contacted the game’s support and...well...they were pretty useless.
I still enjoy the game. It’s a nice little thing to do over breakfast.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:16 PM on December 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
I've have decent luck with AEONS
posted by gottabefunky at 6:20 PM on December 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by gottabefunky at 6:20 PM on December 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
I use a word which is one letter off of my son's name. It's not the optimal choice but I think it's fun for how WordleBot always says that either 0 or, at most, 1 other person has tried it. Wordle's appeal to me is that it's a relaxing game so I don't feel any point to try to move my average up to the 2-3 range from 3-4.
posted by adamsc at 6:23 PM on December 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by adamsc at 6:23 PM on December 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
I completely failed to invent both Sarah Palin and Lauren Boebert.Next time, please fail WORSE.
posted by Flunkie at 8:01 PM on December 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
This is the most recommended of the nearly 1000 users' comments.
"I have no interest in a cold, computerized, analytic strategy - this is supposed to be fun! My first word is always random - I look around and see a chair . . . CHAIR; I hear music . . . MUSIC. This is a mild, momentary intellectual challenge over a cup of coffee. Later in the day I don't remember - or care - what the word was."
A thousand times this. I always pick a random word, have a moment or two of fun, and then struggle to recall the word more than half an hour later. And that's not meant a criticism either.
posted by vac2003 at 8:15 PM on December 17, 2023 [9 favorites]
"I have no interest in a cold, computerized, analytic strategy - this is supposed to be fun! My first word is always random - I look around and see a chair . . . CHAIR; I hear music . . . MUSIC. This is a mild, momentary intellectual challenge over a cup of coffee. Later in the day I don't remember - or care - what the word was."
A thousand times this. I always pick a random word, have a moment or two of fun, and then struggle to recall the word more than half an hour later. And that's not meant a criticism either.
posted by vac2003 at 8:15 PM on December 17, 2023 [9 favorites]
Also, realize, NYT doesn't need to be gathering any of this data for you to be enjoying this game. The guy who wrote it wrote it as a tiny bit of code with the database of words being larger than the code that ran the game, and it gathered zero data about anyone playing it. And then NYT bought it after everyone had fun with it, and now look at what they're doing.
It used to be a fun word game. Now it's data for what used to be a news organization.
posted by hippybear at 8:34 PM on December 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
It used to be a fun word game. Now it's data for what used to be a news organization.
posted by hippybear at 8:34 PM on December 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
I always play on hard mode, which I do find harder, but I usually do slightly better. Every now and then I get an ending fixed, but have too many options for the remaining letters with the number of guesses available and that sucks. However, hard mode forces me to think rather than just saying "Oh, I'll guess this just to see if it takes me anywhere" and that's a good thing. All of my two guess victories have come after two or three minutes of thinking after my first guess. Hard mode encourages that.
I rotate guesses. SHAME and STEAM are my favorites, but I've used others. I'm not a fan of the vowel strategy. Give me the consonants and I'll tell you the word. Give me the vowels and... who the hell knows was __I_E is? That could be anything.
It sort of bugs me that my win% is given as 100%, because it isn't. It rounds up to 100%, but I missed one in the last 200+ games (117 game streak going on right now) and that's not 100%. That should be reserved for freaks who never get it wrong.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 9:02 PM on December 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
I rotate guesses. SHAME and STEAM are my favorites, but I've used others. I'm not a fan of the vowel strategy. Give me the consonants and I'll tell you the word. Give me the vowels and... who the hell knows was __I_E is? That could be anything.
It sort of bugs me that my win% is given as 100%, because it isn't. It rounds up to 100%, but I missed one in the last 200+ games (117 game streak going on right now) and that's not 100%. That should be reserved for freaks who never get it wrong.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 9:02 PM on December 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
I saw a tweet that recommended using farts, because if you ever get it on the 1st try, it would be best day ever. So I use that. Yes, I'm 10.
posted by theora55 at 9:10 PM on December 17, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 9:10 PM on December 17, 2023 [9 favorites]
I've been using the word "ready" since day one, and while it's never been the answer (yet!) I feel like it's a solid starting point. Surprised to find I seem to be in the minority for using that as a starting word.
posted by revmitcz at 11:04 PM on December 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by revmitcz at 11:04 PM on December 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
Almost a year ago, I launched my Wordle spinoff, Lirdle, right here on the blue. For those who missed it, one of the five answers on each guess is a lie. At least for me, it still hasn't gotten mechanical, the way Wordle has. And at least once a week I give up.
posted by morspin at 11:36 PM on December 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by morspin at 11:36 PM on December 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
The most common nine letters in written English (UK version) are, in descending order: E, T, A, I, S, O, N, H, R. Accordingly, I always use the opening word HASTE, which has the maximum five of those nine letters in it, and generally solve the puzzle in line three or four.
posted by Paul Slade at 12:24 AM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Paul Slade at 12:24 AM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
is there any way to get around the paywall?
There are many. My favourite is Bypass Paywalls Clean (for Firefox; for Chrome and derivatives)
posted by flabdablet at 2:37 AM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
There are many. My favourite is Bypass Paywalls Clean (for Firefox; for Chrome and derivatives)
posted by flabdablet at 2:37 AM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
I found that an optimized starting word made it too easy for me, so I start with the previous day's solution.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 3:05 AM on December 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 3:05 AM on December 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
I saw a tweet that recommended using farts, because if you ever get it on the 1st try, it would be best day ever. So I use that. Yes, I'm 10.
I know someone who got it on the first try with "moist". Raised some eyebrows...
posted by sriracha at 5:12 AM on December 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
I know someone who got it on the first try with "moist". Raised some eyebrows...
posted by sriracha at 5:12 AM on December 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
I found that an optimized starting word made it too easy for me, so I start with the previous day's solution.
My brother does this, and I try to think of that as little as possible.
posted by punchtothehead at 7:01 AM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
My brother does this, and I try to think of that as little as possible.
posted by punchtothehead at 7:01 AM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
My biggest frustration with Wordle, though, is when you get four out of the five letters correct and in position, but it’s such a common combo that it can easily take the rest of your tries to stumble on the correct fifth letter. Like today’s puzzle. I had _UNNY on the second try. Now it was a down to accidentally plugging-in the correct fifth letter. zzzzzzzz
posted by Thorzdad at 7:10 AM on December 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 7:10 AM on December 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
Spoiler alert about today's Wordle:
Well, that's when you put yourself in the mind of the word picker.
There's a good chance you already ruled out SUNNY. Are they going to go with GUNNY or RUNNY? Probably not--the former is kinda jargon-y and the second kind of a downer.
PUNNY is not outside the realm of possibility, but I'd try BUNNY and FUNNY first.
And then NYT bought it after everyone had fun with it, and now look at what they're doing.
They're... collecting some anonymized data about the words people pick and then making some articles and strategy guides and such out of it?
Am I missing some nefarious deed from the Times here? Because if I were, it wouldn't be the first time.
posted by box at 7:27 AM on December 18, 2023 [7 favorites]
Well, that's when you put yourself in the mind of the word picker.
There's a good chance you already ruled out SUNNY. Are they going to go with GUNNY or RUNNY? Probably not--the former is kinda jargon-y and the second kind of a downer.
PUNNY is not outside the realm of possibility, but I'd try BUNNY and FUNNY first.
And then NYT bought it after everyone had fun with it, and now look at what they're doing.
They're... collecting some anonymized data about the words people pick and then making some articles and strategy guides and such out of it?
Am I missing some nefarious deed from the Times here? Because if I were, it wouldn't be the first time.
posted by box at 7:27 AM on December 18, 2023 [7 favorites]
I am fairly sure no plural words are solutions.
posted by bz at 8:04 AM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by bz at 8:04 AM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
it can easily take the rest of your tries to stumble on the correct fifth letter
If you have at least 2 guesses left, use one on a word that uses the most common letters remaining. WHOMP, for instance, covers a lot of those "is it sw--, st--, sh--, sm-- or sp--" issues.
posted by beaning at 8:10 AM on December 18, 2023 [5 favorites]
If you have at least 2 guesses left, use one on a word that uses the most common letters remaining. WHOMP, for instance, covers a lot of those "is it sw--, st--, sh--, sm-- or sp--" issues.
posted by beaning at 8:10 AM on December 18, 2023 [5 favorites]
All last year I used Wordle to help develop my intuition, along with my deductive-reasoning skills, so I make a point of trying to never use the same starting word, instead defaulting to the first one that pops into my head upon loading the page. Sometimes I end up with some very lucky accidents that let me solve in two guesses, other times I end up right at the brink with five or six. I'm more invested in Connections and Spelling Bee these days, but Wordle is still an OK warmup in the morning.
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:36 AM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:36 AM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
One thing that often costs me a line is that I find it so hard to remember a letter I've already placed correctly could also appear a second time. My stupid brain just rebels against thinking of that for some reason.
posted by Paul Slade at 9:00 AM on December 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Paul Slade at 9:00 AM on December 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
The five by six grid also allows you to do things like this.
posted by Paul Slade at 9:04 AM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Paul Slade at 9:04 AM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oh no I start with ADIEU! I like Thirdle, which I started after watching FGK Plays play it.
posted by ellieBOA at 9:33 AM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by ellieBOA at 9:33 AM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
I always start with OPIUM. Then the first word I try is whatever pops into my head.
posted by snofoam at 9:46 AM on December 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by snofoam at 9:46 AM on December 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
It is very funny that, in today’s Wordle, using the optimal starting word (“slate”) from this article results in no correct or present letters at all.
I see what you did there...
posted by asnider at 9:59 AM on December 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
I see what you did there...
posted by asnider at 9:59 AM on December 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
I am fairly sure no plural words are solutions.
Usually. But one Wordle solution was FUNGI, the plural of FUNGUS.
posted by SPrintF at 10:46 AM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Usually. But one Wordle solution was FUNGI, the plural of FUNGUS.
posted by SPrintF at 10:46 AM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Bartender: Sorry, buddy, we only serve plural nouns in this bar
Mushroom: Aw, c'mon, I'm a FUNGI
posted by box at 11:14 AM on December 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
Mushroom: Aw, c'mon, I'm a FUNGI
posted by box at 11:14 AM on December 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
I was just registering "salet / curio" as a sockpuppet and got distracted by reading and responding to this thread.
I have friends who've lost 550+ streak to a huge hole caused by many common letters and one rare one but ordinary, I stopped playing when NYT bought the game. Instead I do Countdown-numbers-gane Summle and daily-Clue-like Murdle.
posted by k3ninho at 11:34 AM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
I have friends who've lost 550+ streak to a huge hole caused by many common letters and one rare one but ordinary, I stopped playing when NYT bought the game. Instead I do Countdown-numbers-gane Summle and daily-Clue-like Murdle.
posted by k3ninho at 11:34 AM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
My daily list is Wordle, Murdle, Cine2Nerdle (16 clues that need to be assembled in groups of 4 to form the clues to movies), Metazooa and Metaflora. Tradle was good fun for a while but I'm just never going to learn all those tiny Caribbean countries that export $300 million of frozen fish and boat parts.
posted by Jeanne at 12:13 PM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Jeanne at 12:13 PM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
I also like IKYK, which they call guess the culture tag, I’d call a phrase.
posted by ellieBOA at 2:38 PM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by ellieBOA at 2:38 PM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
The 'wordleverse' is large and diverse. https://wordleverse.net/games
posted by vac2003 at 3:52 PM on December 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by vac2003 at 3:52 PM on December 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
"Space" used to be my starting word but then it was the solution one day so I've switched to "train" which has made things harder but still reasonable.
Just so you know, TRAIN was already used- 5/4/22
My philosophy has been that vowels are over-rated...
With SCENT, I have 3 common letters that are commonly followed by H. SH, CH, and TH.
I agree- F Y Cn Rd Ths Y Cld Gt Gd Jb....
Same reasoning for me with CREST, which is what I've been starting with this year- 4 consonants, and nearly the same thing regarding H's.
The most common nine letters in written English (UK version) are, in descending order: E, T, A, I, S, O, N, H, R.
But it's not about written English. There is a known group of words (14,855) and they are not in sentences.
In my list as of today, the most common letters are E, A, R, L, S, I, O, T, N
I am fairly sure no plural words are solutions.
There are no plurals ending in 'S' in the original 2315- word target list.
ALGAE, MEDIA, CACTI...
Also in that list, 'S' is first letter in 365 words, but the last letter in only 36 words
But sooner or later, the NYT Wordle editor might slip in a plural word ending in 'S'.
Just ran some numbers on my latest program for expected # of guesses for the following starting words:
SHART - 3.4925
AEONS - 3.495
CRYPT - 3.5875 (including one loss)
For comparison, SLATE got a 3.411 and QAJAQ (possibly the worst starting word) got a 4.207.
So it's not a big jump from the best to the worst.
posted by MtDewd at 3:56 PM on December 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
Just so you know, TRAIN was already used- 5/4/22
My philosophy has been that vowels are over-rated...
With SCENT, I have 3 common letters that are commonly followed by H. SH, CH, and TH.
I agree- F Y Cn Rd Ths Y Cld Gt Gd Jb....
Same reasoning for me with CREST, which is what I've been starting with this year- 4 consonants, and nearly the same thing regarding H's.
The most common nine letters in written English (UK version) are, in descending order: E, T, A, I, S, O, N, H, R.
But it's not about written English. There is a known group of words (14,855) and they are not in sentences.
In my list as of today, the most common letters are E, A, R, L, S, I, O, T, N
I am fairly sure no plural words are solutions.
There are no plurals ending in 'S' in the original 2315- word target list.
ALGAE, MEDIA, CACTI...
Also in that list, 'S' is first letter in 365 words, but the last letter in only 36 words
But sooner or later, the NYT Wordle editor might slip in a plural word ending in 'S'.
Just ran some numbers on my latest program for expected # of guesses for the following starting words:
SHART - 3.4925
AEONS - 3.495
CRYPT - 3.5875 (including one loss)
For comparison, SLATE got a 3.411 and QAJAQ (possibly the worst starting word) got a 4.207.
So it's not a big jump from the best to the worst.
posted by MtDewd at 3:56 PM on December 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
I play ADIEU followed by STORY every day. Not infrequently get it in 3 and I never don’t solve it. It’s part of my little morning puzzle ritual (Wordle, Spelling Bee, ConnectIons) and I enjoy the familiarity. Not everything needs to be optimized.
posted by Sublimity at 4:00 PM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Sublimity at 4:00 PM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Judicious optimization is optimal.
posted by flabdablet at 5:42 PM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by flabdablet at 5:42 PM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Wow I am just so happy to meet another person in here whose daily starting word is FARTS!!!
theora55 we are clearly kindred spirits- stay cool <3
Also if there are no plural words in the answer list, why on earth aren't they rejecting them as guesses? I thought that any word that would pass as a guess could also be an answer?
Some of my friends and family are adament that it will never, ever be FARTS day, because the NYT is way too square for that, and in considering this debate i searched the NYTimes.com for the word farts, and was low key shocked at how few mentions of this basic bodily function turned up... But I still believe that FARTS day will come, and in the meantime i have really enjoyed making so many weird little wordle poems that begin with the word farts, and go wherever the answer leads me.
for example, the other day was
FARTS
THINE
TIMID
TOXIC
TOPIC
and I think that is just delightful.
posted by wowenthusiast at 8:24 PM on December 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
theora55 we are clearly kindred spirits- stay cool <3
Also if there are no plural words in the answer list, why on earth aren't they rejecting them as guesses? I thought that any word that would pass as a guess could also be an answer?
Some of my friends and family are adament that it will never, ever be FARTS day, because the NYT is way too square for that, and in considering this debate i searched the NYTimes.com for the word farts, and was low key shocked at how few mentions of this basic bodily function turned up... But I still believe that FARTS day will come, and in the meantime i have really enjoyed making so many weird little wordle poems that begin with the word farts, and go wherever the answer leads me.
for example, the other day was
FARTS
THINE
TIMID
TOXIC
TOPIC
and I think that is just delightful.
posted by wowenthusiast at 8:24 PM on December 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
Just for fun, I spent some time building word squares that contained as many letters as I could fit, using words in the list of known valid clues. Every day I used the same set of words for the first five guesses and then tried to solve the puzzle on my last guess. It worked pretty well, but wasn't foolproof.
This was the word square that I liked the most:
posted by Lirp at 9:14 PM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
This was the word square that I liked the most:
SWISH CAMPO UNBOX FLAKE TYREDThat strategy got old eventually, and now when I occasionally play wordle, I'm in the "just pick a random word" camp.
posted by Lirp at 9:14 PM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
But it's not about written English.
That's an interesting point - and one which had never occurred to me before. I wonder if the absence of common linking words ("and", "the" etc) and of limiting your sample to five letter words substantially changes the letter hierarchy I mentioned?
My guess is that a couple of letters in my top nine might switch places, but no more than that. Any linguists or statisticians out there who can offer a definitive answer?
#HasteTillIDie.
posted by Paul Slade at 12:10 AM on December 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
That's an interesting point - and one which had never occurred to me before. I wonder if the absence of common linking words ("and", "the" etc) and of limiting your sample to five letter words substantially changes the letter hierarchy I mentioned?
My guess is that a couple of letters in my top nine might switch places, but no more than that. Any linguists or statisticians out there who can offer a definitive answer?
#HasteTillIDie.
posted by Paul Slade at 12:10 AM on December 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Also if there are no plural words in the answer list, why on earth aren't they rejecting them as guesses? I thought that any word that would pass as a guess could also be an answer?
Think of it from the designer's perspective: you need the dictionary of valid guesses to be as wide as possible to avoid constantly telling the player "sorry, that's not in our dictionary" for perfectly valid words, but you'd want to curate a much smaller dictionary of possible goal words to avoid demanding the player know, for example, obscure words or alternate rare spellings.
And then my guess is that the original decision to avoid plural-s words in the goal list was to keep the overall game from having too much of an s-in-the-last-position bias.
But, that said, it looked to me like this article was suggesting they're no longer operating from a static goal list (even if the way the page is coded might still let you access what looks like one?), so who knows how that part might shake out in the future.
posted by nobody at 4:09 AM on December 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Think of it from the designer's perspective: you need the dictionary of valid guesses to be as wide as possible to avoid constantly telling the player "sorry, that's not in our dictionary" for perfectly valid words, but you'd want to curate a much smaller dictionary of possible goal words to avoid demanding the player know, for example, obscure words or alternate rare spellings.
And then my guess is that the original decision to avoid plural-s words in the goal list was to keep the overall game from having too much of an s-in-the-last-position bias.
But, that said, it looked to me like this article was suggesting they're no longer operating from a static goal list (even if the way the page is coded might still let you access what looks like one?), so who knows how that part might shake out in the future.
posted by nobody at 4:09 AM on December 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
I used to use ATONE as my opener (based on ETAOIN letter frequency) and then it came up as the word and I was free and have never played again.
posted by Hogshead at 6:17 AM on December 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Hogshead at 6:17 AM on December 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Still hoping to one day see WUXIA as the solution.
posted by SPrintF at 7:18 AM on December 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by SPrintF at 7:18 AM on December 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
MtDewd, I may change my starter from SCENT to CREST!
The NY Times article says 1.7% of SLATE starters fail to solve a Wordle on average and 3.6% of ADIEU starters. My average is 1.3%. I haven't been EXCLUSIVELY using SCENT but I settled on it some time ago.
posted by Schmucko at 11:08 AM on December 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
The NY Times article says 1.7% of SLATE starters fail to solve a Wordle on average and 3.6% of ADIEU starters. My average is 1.3%. I haven't been EXCLUSIVELY using SCENT but I settled on it some time ago.
posted by Schmucko at 11:08 AM on December 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
Also if there are no plural words in the answer list, why on earth aren't they rejecting them as guesses?This is not unique to -s plurals. There are lots of words that are accepted as guesses despite not being among the possible answers.
I hate that. First of all, it's like a built-in punishment for knowing words. But (simultaneously less importantly and more annoyingly) I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate Wordle Bot's take on them: Your guess has no chance of being correct, and therefore indicates that you have zero "skill".
Like, oh, yeah, my bad, I obviously should've known that PARCH is in some sort of weird no man's land between "People know the word BROWN" and "C'mon, virtually nobody who's not currently actively browsing the OED knows the word WITAN".
posted by Flunkie at 1:15 PM on December 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
One thing I like about CREST is that if you get a yellow S, it's almost always goes in the 1st position.
And if I get all grays, I use DAIRY next,
posted by MtDewd at 5:01 PM on December 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
And if I get all grays, I use DAIRY next,
posted by MtDewd at 5:01 PM on December 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
One thing I like about CREST is that if you get a yellow S, it's almost always goes in the 1st position.
err ... then shouldn't you be using a word where s is already in the first position?
posted by Paul Slade at 4:59 AM on December 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
err ... then shouldn't you be using a word where s is already in the first position?
posted by Paul Slade at 4:59 AM on December 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
Almost a year ago, I launched my Wordle spinoff, Lirdle, right here on the blue.
I play this every day & love it but also you're on notice for MELBA
posted by taquito sunrise at 7:07 AM on December 20, 2023
I play this every day & love it but also you're on notice for MELBA
posted by taquito sunrise at 7:07 AM on December 20, 2023
shouldn't you be using a word where s is already in the first position?
I think that's a good question, and one that I have thought about without knowing how to prove one way or the other.
I just started using a new version of my program, but from Sept 10 through today, my previous version tested (among other words) 4 starting words with the same letters, and these are the average guesses for the Wordle word of the day:
SLATE- 3.157
LEAST- 3.157 - no difference (though tomorrow might show something else
STALE- 3.186
SALET- 3.216
also-
STARE- 3.108
TARSE- 3.127 - so better than SLATE
'S' is the most common starting letter, but it's only 15% of the 2309-word list.
I guess my thought is that a yellow 'S' in the 4th position tells me more than a yellow 'S' in the 1st position, and the same for green 'S's.
But that's just a feeling, and is for my personal use. My program now is using an 'S' in the starting position for its first guess.
posted by MtDewd at 7:24 AM on December 20, 2023
I think that's a good question, and one that I have thought about without knowing how to prove one way or the other.
I just started using a new version of my program, but from Sept 10 through today, my previous version tested (among other words) 4 starting words with the same letters, and these are the average guesses for the Wordle word of the day:
SLATE- 3.157
LEAST- 3.157 - no difference (though tomorrow might show something else
STALE- 3.186
SALET- 3.216
also-
STARE- 3.108
TARSE- 3.127 - so better than SLATE
'S' is the most common starting letter, but it's only 15% of the 2309-word list.
I guess my thought is that a yellow 'S' in the 4th position tells me more than a yellow 'S' in the 1st position, and the same for green 'S's.
But that's just a feeling, and is for my personal use. My program now is using an 'S' in the starting position for its first guess.
posted by MtDewd at 7:24 AM on December 20, 2023
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In the 80s I failed to invent Tetris. In the 90s I failed to invent MtG. In the 00s I failed to invent Crush the Castle aka Angry Birds. In the 10s I failed to invent Clash of Clans. In the 2020s I failed to invent Wordle. I see a pattern here.
posted by torokunai at 2:29 PM on December 17, 2023 [17 favorites]