# "Wordle," a strangely compelling word game (Part 2)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659
**Category:** The Game Room
**Tags:** board-card-word-game
**Created:** [March 25, 2023, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659 "2023-03-25T23:59:39Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 195
### Author:  [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2023, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3881 "2023-10-21T10:10:08Z")
Wordle 854 3/6\*
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
🟧⬛🟧🟧⬛
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧
ALONE
SHIRT
SMIRK
---
### Author:  [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2023, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3882 "2023-10-21T11:11:25Z")
Wordle 854 5/6\*
\begin{aligned} &\bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt B} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt E} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt A} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt R} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt D} \\ &\bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt S} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt C} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt O} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt R} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt N} \\ &\bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt S} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt P} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt U} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt R} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt T} \\ &\bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt S} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt H} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt I} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt R} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt K} \\ &\bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt S} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt M} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt I} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt R} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt K} \\ \end{aligned}
---
### Author:  [@chiliwillybing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiliwillybing)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2023, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3883 "2023-10-21T11:15:09Z")
Wordle 854 3/6
🟨⬜🟩🟨⬜
🟩🟨🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
RAISE
SKIRT
SMIRK
---
### Author:  [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2023, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3884 "2023-10-21T11:55:20Z")
Wordle 854 4/6
⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛
🟩⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛🟨🟩⬛🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
FLAME
SHUNT
BRICK
SMIRK
---
### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2023, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3885 "2023-10-21T12:45:13Z")
Wordle 854 3/6
🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜ 446
⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ 9
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
**S** LANT
CHO **R** E
SMIRK
This one is a good example about how it isn’t just the letters you find, but the ones you eliminate as well. I mean, look at all the goodies in the letters _excluded_ by my first two guesses.
Got E,A,O out of there - the top 3 vowels, and 1,2, and 4 respectively in overall frequency. So now my vowels are down to I,U, and Y. And also killed consonants C,H,L,N, and T. So there’s not going to be 2 vowels between the S and R, and we’ve killed SC, SH, SL, SN, and ST; we’re down to SK, SM, SP, and SW as the potential first two letters. And things work rather nicely from there.
---
### Author:  [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2023, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3886 "2023-10-21T14:17:03Z")
Wordle 854 4/6
⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜
🟩⬜⬜🟩⬜
🟩⬜🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
HEART
SCORN
SWIRL
SMIRK
---
### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2023, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3887 "2023-10-21T14:41:32Z")
Wordle 854 4/6
🟧⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟧⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟧🟦🟧🟦⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧
SLATE
SOUND - Well, now I know what the vowel is.
SKIMP
SMIRK
---
### Author:  [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2023, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3888 "2023-10-21T14:48:50Z")
Wordle 854 6/6\*
⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛
⬛⬛🟩🟨⬛
🟩⬛🟩⬛⬛
🟩⬛🟩⬛⬛
🟩🟨🟩⬛⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
BASIL
HEIST
SPICY
SWING
SKIFF
SMIRK
This one was HARD!
---
### Author:  [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2023, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3889 "2023-10-21T16:52:55Z")
Wordle 854 4/6
⬛⬛🟧🟦⬛
🟧⬛🟧⬛⬛
🟧⬛🟧🟧🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧
NOISE
SPILT
SHIRK
SMIRK
I saw both SHIRK and SMIRK but lost the coin toss.
Checking the past answer list would have gotten me a birdie, but I’ll take the true par.
---
### Author:  [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2023, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3890 "2023-10-21T17:01:01Z")
Another earned 3.
Wordle 854 3/6\*
🟨🟨⬛⬛⬛
🟨🟨⬛⬛🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
IRATE
MINOR
SMIRK
Finding the M was key. WordleBot said the answer was the only possible remaining word. Took me awhile to find it, though.
Today my streak hit 400 out of 641 consecutive games played.
Damn you, PARER!
---
### Author:  [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3891 "2023-10-21T20:21:14Z")
> **Wordle 854 5/6\* 10/21/2023**
>
> ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
> ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜
> 🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜
> 🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩
> 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
>
> OCCU_R_ → I was hoping for SCOUR. Bummer. I’ll try a two-vowel followup
> T_R_A_I_L → Got one. Don’t have the S yet. Couple with the (unused) E & N and you get
> _RIS_EN → Only one vowel, so try it in the middle. H is still out there, so
> **S** H **IRK** → As was M. Oops.
> **SMIRK**
>
> Scoredle suggested the same last two guesses as I made. I guess I can get a self-satisfied grin out of that.
---
### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2023, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3892 "2023-10-21T21:41:31Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#):
>
> Today my streak hit 400 out of 641 consecutive games played.
>
> Damn you, PARER!
It has indeed been 400 games since PARER.
Since then, I have 22 2’s, 182 3’s, 158 4’s, 32 5’s, 5 6’s, and a loss (JOKER, Wordle #675). Averaging the loss in as a 7, I have an average of 3.5475 guesses per game since PARER. (In the 232 games I’d played up through PARER, my average was 3.978; the less said about my play back then, the better.)
---
### Author:  [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2023, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3893 "2023-10-22T04:04:46Z")
Wordle 854 3/6\*
🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
SLATE
SYNOD
SMIRK
A lucky guess, because there were 17 other possible options and I didn’t see any of them, including SHIRK
---
### Author:  [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2023, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3894 "2023-10-22T04:06:15Z")
Wordle 855 5/6\*
⬛⬛⬛🟦🟦
⬛🟧🟦🟧⬛
⬛🟧⬛🟧🟧
⬛🟧⬛🟧🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧
ALONE
TINES
WIDEN
RIPEN
GIVEN
Close call! (Maybe. I don’t know. Were there other options?)
---
### Author:  [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2023, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3895 "2023-10-22T04:53:32Z")
Wordle 855 5/6
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨
⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
RATIO
SHINE
WIDEN
LINEN
GIVEN
This felt like a trap but I was having trouble coming up with answers. LINEN kept coming up so I tried it. I finally had to go through all the remaining letters one by one.
---
### Author:  [@SeaSun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaSun)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2023, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3896 "2023-10-22T06:20:26Z")
**Wordle 854 3/6**
🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
SLATE
CHOIR
SMIRK
---
### Author:  [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2023, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3897 "2023-10-22T06:26:01Z")
Wordle 855 4/6
⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛
⬛🟨⬛⬛🟨
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
PLANT
SNORE
NEIGH
GIVEN
This took what felt like forever. Saw neigh pretty quickly, but didn’t love it. After a while I also saw bendy, but disliked that. Another while later I saw wench – nope – which led quickly to bench, but bench has already been an answer. At that point I gave up and just went with neigh since it’s the first thing I saw. But then I was stuck with an ocean of yellows and couldn’t see anything. Finally, _finally,_ I saw given.
---
### Author:  [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2023, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3898 "2023-10-22T07:42:23Z")
Wordle 855 6/6
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
⬜🟩🟨🟩⬜
⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟨🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Slant
Chore
Miner
Widen
Vixen
Given
---
### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2023, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3899 "2023-10-22T08:55:46Z")
Wordle 855 5/6
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 584
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 77
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 15
🟨🟩⬜🟩🟩 1
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
SLANT
CHORE
DUMPY
VIXEN
GIVEN
I have two possible third words if I’m still fishing for letters at that point: DUMPY and GIMPY. If I’d gone with the latter, I’d have had it in 4, of course. But I decided I wanted DUMPY for the U, to eliminate QU-words. (Still makes sense to me, just wrong in this instance.)
For my fourth word (and my first genuine guess), I saw BEGIN (already used, it was the first solution after the NYT started editing the solutions), WIZEN (never used without the -ED at the end), and finally saw VIXEN and jumped on it. Nope! But after that the solution was obvious at least.
Wasn’t going to do better than a 4 with best play, so I’m not griping about a 5.
---
### Author:  [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2023, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/3900 "2023-10-22T09:25:51Z")
Wordle 855 5/6\*
\begin{aligned} &\bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt B} \bbox[yellow,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt E} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt A} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt R} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt D} \\ &\bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt S} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt L} \bbox[yellow,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt I} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt M} \bbox[yellow,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt E} \\ &\bbox[yellow,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt I} \bbox[yellow,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt N} \bbox[yellow,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt E} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt P} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt T} \\ &\bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt W} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt I} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt Z} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt E} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt N} \\ &\bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt G} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt I} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt V} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt E} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt N} \\ \end{aligned}
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