# "Wordle," a strangely compelling word game (Part 3) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 19, 2024, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451 "2024-11-19T10:57:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2024, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/1 "2024-11-19T10:57:36Z")
Continuing the discussion from ["Wordle," a strangely compelling word game (Part 2) - #10000 by RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/10000). Previous discussions: - ["Wordle," a strangely compelling word game (Part 1)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604) - ["Wordle," a strangely compelling word game (Part 2)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659) ---
**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:** [November 19, 2024, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/2 "2024-11-19T11:44:01Z")
New thread. WOO-HOO! Wordle 1,249 4/6 β¬›β¬›β¬›β¬›πŸŸ¨ β¬›β¬›πŸŸ¨β¬›β¬› πŸŸ©πŸŸ¨β¬›β¬›β¬› 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 STERN CLOUD GIMPY GOING ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2024, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/3 "2024-11-19T11:56:02Z")
Wordle 1,249 3/6\* ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ 🟩⬜🟩🟩⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Scoredle 3/6\* 14,855 ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ARISE (142) 🟩⬜🟩🟩⬜ GLINT (1) 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 GOING Nothing special, but it’s kind of cool to be at the start of the new thread πŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2024, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/4 "2024-11-19T12:29:35Z")
Wordle 1,249 5/6 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ 🟨🟨🟩⬜⬜ 🟨🟩🟩⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 HEART SPOIL ONION NOISY GOING ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2024, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/5 "2024-11-19T13:05:53Z")
Wordle 1,249 3/6\* ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 LEAST BOUND GOING ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2024, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/6 "2024-11-19T13:55:22Z")
> [@"Wordle," a strangely compelling word game (Part 2)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/9999): > > [Hard mode] makes a difference as well. I think that’s somewhat ameliorated, though probably not completely, by the fact that hard mode gives you a small extra chance to get a 2. You literally can’t get a 2 if your second guess doesn’t obey β€œsuper” hard mode rules. (Actual hard mode lets you reuse bad letters. β€œSuper” hard mode is the idea of you can only guess words that could possibly be the answer, not counting the previous answers list.) > [@"Wordle," a strangely compelling word game (Part 2)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/9999): > > I keep thinking that at some point they’ve got to start re-using past solutions Right? I feel like they have to at some point. You can’t let it dwindle down to β€œThere’s only four words left!”, y’know? I like your idea of protecting the last 6 months or year on a rolling basis, and then allowing repeats of any answers from before that. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2024, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/7 "2024-11-19T14:34:16Z")
> **Wordle 1,249 4/6\* 11/19/2024** > > ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ > ⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜ > ⬜⬜🟩🟩🟨 > 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 > > FRA_I_L β†’ Slow start. Rest of WoFcons plus an E, anyone? STEIN is out due to I placement, so I’ll go with > T_IN_ES β†’ Need to do better than that. I think an O is in order, along with a couple more common consonants… > CH **IN** _O_ β†’ Hmmm. O?IN? goes nowhere, so it must be ?OIN?, I’m seeing one with a repeat letter now > **GOING** > DOING, BOINK/BOING (both a bit slangy), and OWING were all possibles, and could have made for a loss. Maybe I should have trusted the B. Scoredle also finishes in four, much more methodically. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2024, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/8 "2024-11-19T15:18:31Z")
But there are literally thousands of 5-letter words, so this can keep going for some years. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2024, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/9 "2024-11-19T15:24:55Z")
Another freakin’ trap. Wordle 1,249 6/6 ⬜⬜⬜🟧⬜ ⬜⬜🟧🟧🟧 ⬜⬜🟧🟧🟧 ⬜⬜🟧🟧🟧 ⬜🟧🟧🟧🟧 🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧 CRANE SLING THING VYING BOING GOING ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2024, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/10 "2024-11-19T15:49:23Z")
There were 14,855 allowable guesses on Josh Wardle’s original list. But only ~2300 on his list of possible solutions. It’s possible that the NYT has expanded the latter list somewhat. But as long as the premise is that the solution is a word that a reasonably well-read person would know, there’s a limit to how many words they can add - a few hundred at most, and probably a good deal less, IMHO. Give or take, we’re roughly halfway through the list. So they can keep this going for another three or four years without re-using solutions, but the list of plausible solutions will continue to shrink as long as they don’t recycle. But I’m sure they’d like to keep this game going as long as it continues to be a positive factor in getting people to subscribe, which could be a good deal longer than that. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2024, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/11 "2024-11-19T21:48:44Z")
Hey, everybody! Good to be here! Let’s get started with my method and reasoning. Wordle 1,249 3/6 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 YEAST (Deploy backup I - O - U word!) CURIO (I _and_ O! I’m gonna look for an OI word.) GOING (Ooh! Found one!) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2024, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/12 "2024-11-19T22:17:41Z")
> [@"Wordle," a strangely compelling word game (Part 2)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/9999): > > > [@"Wordle," a strangely compelling word game (Part 2)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/9999): > > > > [Hard mode] makes a difference as well. > > I think that’s somewhat ameliorated, though probably not completely, by the fact that hard mode gives you a small extra chance to get a 2. You literally can’t get a 2 if your second guess doesn’t obey β€œsuper” hard mode rules. (Actual hard mode lets you reuse bad letters. β€œSuper” hard mode is the idea of you can only guess words that could possibly be the answer, not counting the previous answers list.) > > > [@"Wordle," a strangely compelling word game (Part 2)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-2/981659/9999): > > > > I keep thinking that at some point they’ve got to start re-using past solutions > > Right? I feel like they have to at some point. You can’t let it dwindle down to β€œThere’s only four words left!”, y’know? > > I like your idea of protecting the last 6 months or year on a rolling basis, and then allowing repeats of any answers from before that. My approach is that as long as the 'bot in charge doesn’t say _"That’s not a word!_", it’s a word. On a strategic level, I _do_ avoid plurals and present-tense verbs. So BOING might actually appear. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/13 "2024-11-20T02:06:26Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > So BOING might actually appear. Oh, absolutely. There’ve been a lot of slang solutions, and by now, any regular player should have adjusted their expectations accordingly. But depending on the particular slang word, I might or might not downgrade what I think its chances are, compared to any unquestionably legit words still in play. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/14 "2024-11-20T05:05:33Z")
Wordle 1,250 4/6 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 🟨🟨🟨⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 LEAST PROVE CHIDE NICHE ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/15 "2024-11-20T06:49:36Z")
Wordle 1250 3/6 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 584 🟨🟨⬜⬜🟩 3 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 SLANT CHORE NICHE HENCE had already been used. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/16 "2024-11-20T07:04:46Z")
Wordle 1,250 3/6 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜🟨🟨🟨🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 RATIO SHINE NICHE ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/17 "2024-11-20T07:05:38Z")
Wordle 1,250 4/6 β¬›β¬›β¬›πŸŸ¨β¬› β¬›πŸŸ¨β¬›β¬›πŸŸ© β¬›β¬›πŸŸ¨πŸŸ¨πŸŸ© 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 PLANT SNORE FENCE NICHE ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/18 "2024-11-20T08:18:52Z")
Wordle 1,250 4/6\* \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 L} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt O} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt U} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt S} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt E} \\ &\bbox[yellow,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt C} \bbox[yellow,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt H} \bbox[yellow,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt I} \bbox[silver,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt M} \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 I} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt C} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt H} \bbox[lime,5px,border:1px solid black]{\texttt E} \\ \end{aligned} ---
**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:** [November 20, 2024, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/19 "2024-11-20T13:34:40Z")
Wordle 1,250 4/6 β¬›β¬›β¬›β¬›πŸŸ© β¬›β¬›πŸŸ¨β¬›β¬› β¬›β¬›πŸŸ¨πŸŸ¨πŸŸ¨ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 STARE DOILY PUNCH NICHE ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451/20 "2024-11-20T13:50:42Z")
Wordle 1,250 4/6 🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟩 ⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 HEART SHOVE LITHE NICHE [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-3/1010451.md?page=2)