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What Wordle’s colors mean
The official licensed Wordle tabletop rules describe the six-guess game and define the color clues. Their color logic is useful for reading a row: a green tile marks a letter in the correct position, a yellow tile marks a letter in the answer but in the wrong position, and a letter left without a tile is not assigned to an answer occurrence. The rules state, “Place a green tile over any letter that is in the word and in the correct spot.” Official Wordle: The Party Game rules
- Green: The letter is in the answer at this exact position. Keep it fixed there.
- Yellow: The letter occurs in the answer, but not in the position where you guessed it. Keep the letter in play and forbid that slot.
- Gray or unmarked: That guessed instance was not assigned to an answer occurrence. Check for duplicate copies before eliminating the letter entirely.
How to turn a row into constraints
- Lock the greens. Copy every green letter into its exact slot in your working pattern. Do not move it in later guesses.
- Record each yellow and its forbidden slot. For example, if a letter is yellow in the second position, the answer contains that letter, but it cannot be in position two. A yellow is not permission to reuse the same position.
- Eliminate gray letters cautiously. Cross out a gray letter only after checking whether another copy of that same letter in the row was green or yellow.
- Count colored copies. The number of colored copies tells you how many occurrences are accounted for in the answer. A gray duplicate can indicate that the answer has fewer copies than the guess.
- Choose the purpose of your next guess. If many words still fit, test useful unused letters. If only a few plausible candidates remain, try a valid candidate that could solve or separate those possibilities.
Why duplicate letters change what gray means
Wordle feedback accounts for answer occurrences, so repeated letters must be read as a group rather than independently. If your guess contains two copies of a letter but the answer has only one, one guessed copy may receive color feedback while the extra copy remains gray or unmarked. The official rules give two examples: when one copy is correctly placed, it is green and the other is left uncovered; when both copies are misplaced, only one is yellow. Official Wordle: The Party Game rules
In practical terms, a gray duplicate does not automatically mean the letter is absent. It can instead show that the answer contains fewer copies than your guess. Count the green and yellow copies first; if one is colored and another is gray, keep the letter but do not assume there are two occurrences.
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How to choose a useful next guess
There are two legitimate goals for a guess: try a word that could be the answer, or gather information that helps distinguish the remaining candidates. Which is better depends on how much you have narrowed the pattern and on the active game mode.
When many answers still fit
A probe can test several unused common letters at once and reveal more about the answer. An independent NYT Game Solver guide recommends an opener with five distinct common letters and a second guess that tests new letters. Treat this as strategy advice, not official NYT doctrine: known green and yellow constraints should take priority, and the best guess also depends on the mode you are playing. NYT Game Solver strategy guide
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When only a few candidates remain
Compare the plausible words against every constraint: fixed green positions, yellow-letter presence, yellow-letter forbidden positions, and duplicate counts. Prefer a candidate that either could be the answer or, if you are probing, would produce different feedback for the remaining possibilities. A word that tests fresh letters is not useful if it ignores established clues.
Account for the active mode
The strategy guide notes that Hard Mode requires later guesses to use revealed hints. If that mode is active, an information-gathering guess must still honor the revealed clues. Rules about using hints can vary by mode, so follow the mode shown in your game rather than assuming every probe is permitted. NYT Game Solver strategy guide
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A 2022 paper by Chao-Lin Liu reported that its best-performing strategy averaged 3.674 guesses and left 0.65% of puzzles unsolved in a simulation over a then-current 2,315-word answer set. The paper’s baseline simulator averaged 4.078 guesses and exceeded six trials for 1.77% of that set. These are results from the paper’s specified simulator and answer list, not a forecast or guarantee for current NYT Wordle or for human players. Chao-Lin Liu’s 2022 study
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Sources and scope
The color and duplicate-letter explanation above is documented in the 2022 licensed tabletop rulebook. It establishes the core clue logic; it is not a guide to every detail of the current digital interface. Official Wordle: The Party Game rules
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