# "Wordle," a strangely compelling word game (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** board-card-word-game\ **Created:** [December 24, 2021, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604 "2021-12-24T21:12:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/221 "2022-01-03T11:52:01Z")
_S_WEA_T_ CHOI_R_ _RUST_Y **TRUSS** I sweated that last one. I had 4 letters all out of position and drove myself crazy until I remembered that duplicate letters are possible. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/222 "2022-01-03T13:19:55Z")
That is two days in a row with double letters, which let me get it in 3: Wordle 198 3/6 ⬛⬛⬛🟩🟨 ⬛⬛🟨🟩⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/223 "2022-01-03T13:31:46Z")
whoops ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/224 "2022-01-03T14:16:45Z")
I thought I got it in 3, but not quite. _R_A_T_IO **T** HE_R_E **TRUS** T **TRUSS** I really hate the multiple letters. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/225 "2022-01-03T14:56:56Z")
I’ve been pondering on it from the other side. When we were children, we’d play a similar game during the loooooong family vacation car trips. Two of us would pair off, each come up with a ‘target’ word for the other, and then trade turns as we both gave the feedback on the other players guesses while trying to solve their puzzle. Unlimited number of turns, with the older kids using six letter words and younger five letters. The challenge wasn’t really ‘How to solve’ the puzzle, but "What makes a really hard target word?’ “Obviously” you want to use more obscure words, and words that use rarer letters – not that we had access to lists of letter frequency back then, but even kids have observed Q is less common than T. Right now with this bunch I’d avoid RATIO and RATES. 😉 You also wanted to avoid really common letter strings – no "ing"s or "str"s for example. And don’t pick something related to recent news events just because it’ll come to mind easily. ORBIT was a lousy choice I tried too soon after John Glenn’s flight, and I think COVID would be a loser now. Of course, sometimes you could win by flipping the expectations. Surely no one would think I’d choose TREAT, right? I will always remember the time my brother hit me with SYZYGY – obscure letters, a triplet, none of the ‘regular’ vowels and I didn’t even know that was a word! Anyway, what do you think might be a really killer target word? Here’s my choice: MUCUS ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/226 "2022-01-03T15:09:21Z")
I got the first three letters pretty fast, but it still took me 6 guesses to finish it. Wordle 198 6/6\* 🟨⬛🟨⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/227 "2022-01-03T15:18:44Z")
Four: ADIEU STROP TRUST TRUSS I was sure I had it in three. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/228 "2022-01-03T15:20:38Z")
Three: TEARS TRIMS TRUSS ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/229 "2022-01-03T15:57:33Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > I will always remember the time my brother hit me with SYZYGY – obscure letters, a triplet, none of the ‘regular’ vowels and I didn’t even know that was a word! > > Anyway, what do you think might be a really killer target word? RHYTHM Also has none of the regular vowels, but is a word most people should recognize. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/230 "2022-01-03T16:37:23Z")
Jan 3rd: O_T_HE_R_ **TR** IAL **TRUS** T TRUSS – I see I’m not the only one who made that choice for third guess. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/231 "2022-01-03T17:29:05Z")
#198 RATIO TRUES TRUSS ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/232 "2022-01-03T17:54:48Z")
Crake Would Fists Truss ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/233 "2022-01-03T21:17:00Z")
Wordle made the NYT! (Link below could be paywalled.) And a possibly important strategy hint many here have guessed at – the solution list is a fairly small subset of English 5-letter words, apparently hand-picked to toss out words that are too obscure. > **[Wordle Is a Love Story (Published 2022)](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/03/technology/wordle-word-game-creator.html)** > > The word game has gone from dozens of players to hundreds of thousands in a few months. It was created by a software engineer in Brooklyn for his partner. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/234 "2022-01-03T21:26:49Z")
Wordle 198 4/6 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Like others, I thought I got it at the third guess. Thwarted! ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/235 "2022-01-03T21:28:12Z")
3 CATES RHINO TRUSS ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/236 "2022-01-03T21:40:13Z")
Ooh, this is fun. First try today: SENNA HILTS TRUSS ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/237 "2022-01-04T05:22:21Z")
#199, Jan 4th (no one has yet posted this one) **S** TOR **E** **S** L_I_D **E** **SIEGE** ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/238 "2022-01-04T05:34:50Z")
Wordle 199 4/6\* ⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨 🟩⬛⬛🟨⬛ 🟩⬛🟩⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Got lucky with my third guess, which was suede. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/239 "2022-01-04T06:24:44Z")
TEARS SWELL SHEEP SIEVE SIEGE ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/240 "2022-01-04T06:37:38Z")
So I’ve now discovered that elsewhere gets the puzzles first, I think my next solve will be eerily accurate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604.md?page=13)