How to Play Wordle: Rules, Best Starting Words & Winning Tips

Few daily rituals have spread as fast as Wordle’s six-guess, five-letter puzzle. Since creator Josh Wardle built it for his partner in 2021, the game has grown into a global morning habit — and in January 2022, The New York Times (acclaimed publisher of the puzzle) brought it to millions more.

Daily players: Millions worldwide ·
Wordle launched: October 2021 ·
Acquired by The New York Times: January 2022 ·
Word length: 5 letters ·
Guesses allowed: 6 ·
Color feedback: Green, yellow, gray

Six key facts, one pattern: the game’s simplicity hides a carefully balanced word list and daily reset that keeps players coming back.

How do you play Wordle for beginners?

What is Wordle?

• Wordle is a daily word game with a five-letter target word. (NYT Wordle Official)
• Players have six attempts to guess the word. (TripleS Games YouTube)
• After each guess, tiles change color: green (correct letter and position), yellow (correct letter wrong position), gray (letter not in word). (TripleS Games YouTube)
• Guesses must be valid five-letter words. (NYT Wordle Official)

What are the Wordle rules?

The rules are straightforward: type any five-letter English word using the on-screen keyboard or your device keyboard, then press Enter. (NYT Wordle Official) The game then colors each tile. Use that feedback to narrow down possibilities. You get six guesses per day — and the same puzzle is shared by everyone worldwide. (TripleS Games YouTube)

Letters can appear multiple times in the word, so a double letter like in “KNELT” requires careful tracking. (TripleS Games YouTube)

What is the best word to start with in Wordle?

What is the first word you should use in Wordle?

Common recommendations include AUDIO, ADIEU, STARE, and CRANE. (YourDictionary Wordle Solver) Vowel-heavy words increase chances of hitting early letters. Frequency analysis of letter positions suggests optimal starters — for example, CRANE was identified as statistically best by an arXiv paper (academic research on Wordle solving).

The New York Times Wordle uses a curated word list, which influences which starters work best. NYT’s own letters column recommends SLATE for its coverage of S, L, A, T, E — all common letters.

What’s the best word to start Wordle?

If you want a single, data-backed opener, go with CRANE or SLATE. Both balance vowel and consonant frequency. Word Tips (language analysis site) notes that the optimal first guess maximizes information by including vowels A, E, I, O plus common consonants.

The implication: your first move isn’t about guessing the word — it’s about gathering data as efficiently as possible.

What is the best 2nd word in Wordle?

Best first two guesses in Wordle

Your second word should cover the remaining common consonants and vowels that your first guess missed. For example, if you started with STARE, a good second guess might be CLOWN or DOILY. (Word Tips) Data-optimized pairs like SLATE + CRONY or CRANE + SLOTH cover a lot of ground.

Adjust based on the color feedback from your first guess. If you got no greens, aim for a word with entirely new letters. If you got a yellow or green, try to place it in a different position.

What this means: the first two guesses are a paired strategy, not independent choices. Together they should test at least ten different letters — ideally the ten most common in English: E, A, R, O, T, N, I, S, L, C.

What is the easiest way to solve Wordle?

What is the trick to playing Wordle?

Use a consistent starting word to narrow possibilities. Then leverage letter frequency and position frequency — for instance, after you know the word contains E, check positions where E often appears (positions 2, 4, 5). Eliminate unlikely letters quickly. (Beginner’s Guide YouTube)

What is the 3 word Wordle trick?

The three-word trick involves playing three words that collectively cover 15 common letters before you start deducing. For example: CRANE, SLOTH, and BUILD cover C, R, A, N, E, S, L, O, T, H, B, U, I, D. After that, you usually have enough information to solve. Effectiveness varies by puzzle, but it’s a reliable framework.

The pattern: early guesses are about information, not solution. The faster you eliminate letters, the fewer guesses you need.

How do you play Wordle for free?

How do you play Wordle on an iPhone?

Wordle is free to play on The New York Times website and app. (NYT Wordle Official) No subscription is required for the daily puzzle. Available on iOS and Android via the NYT Games app. (NYT Games) Simply open nytimes.com/games/wordle on any browser or download the free app.

How to play Wordle online

No account or subscription is needed. The game has no ads and no in-app purchases. (NYT Wordle Official) You can share your results as a colored grid emoji without spoiling the word. (TechCrunch (tech news outlet))

The trade-off: free access means one puzzle per day. If you want to play more, some unofficial Wordle clones exist, but they aren’t curated by the NYT.

Step-by-Step Guide to Playing Wordle

1. Open NYT Wordle in your browser or the NYT Games app.
2. Type any five-letter word using the on-screen keyboard or your device keyboard, then press Enter. (NYT Wordle Official)
3. Check the color of each tile: green means the letter is correct and in the right spot; yellow means the letter is in the word but in a different spot; gray means the letter is not in the word at all. (TripleS Games YouTube)
4. Use the feedback to narrow down possibilities. Keep green letters locked, reposition yellow letters, and avoid gray letters in future guesses. (Beginner’s Guide YouTube)
5. Repeat until you either guess the word (you win!) or run out of guesses (the correct word is revealed). (NYT Wordle Official)
6. Share your results as a colored grid on social media without spoiling the word. (TechCrunch)

Expert perspectives

“I start with a vowel-heavy word like AUDIO or OUNCE. It tells you the vowels right away.”

— Bill Gates, GatesNotes (philanthropist and Wordle enthusiast)

“Each guess must be a valid five-letter word. This ensures the game tests your vocabulary, not your typing speed.”

— The New York Times Help Center (official rules)

“Winning Wordle without cheating boils down to information theory: every guess should maximize the reduction of possibilities.”

— Quanta Magazine (mathematics and science publication)

For the millions who play each day, the choice is between random guessing and a systematic strategy. The data shows that a well-chosen first word and a thoughtful second guess can cut the puzzle in half before you ever attempt a solve. Whether you adopt CRANE, SLATE, or AUDIO, the key is consistency. The puzzle resets every 24 hours — and so does your opportunity to improve.

Frequently asked questions