It seems that, by using the hints each time, I was playing the "hard" version without knowing it. I've now adjusted the settings to make that permanent.
So what’s the best starter? Until a few weeks ago you might have answered “prawn cocktail”. But at 13 letters long, that won’t do. Your preferred starter must now contain only five letters and be the first step to victory in Wordle, the online word game that has briefly made puzzling fashionable.
Logic dictates that there should be an optimal starter word, which should be used every time you play. An analysis of the five-letter words in Collins Official Scrabble Words shows that S and E (10 per cent of the total) appear most often, followed by A (9 per cent), O (7 per cent) and R and I (6 per cent). It has thus been suggested that RAISE may be the optimal starter, but this fails to consider the frequency of letters in different positions.
By far the most common letter in first position is S (12 per cent), so let’s chalk that one in. In second position the top letters are A (17 per cent) and O (16 per cent). Third has A (10 per cent) and R (9 per cent). E (18 per cent) is by far the most frequent in fourth. The most common final letter is S (a massive 31 per cent), owing to the prevalence of plurals in the list — but since the Wordle word has yet to be a plural in 2022, it may be that the maker is reluctant to use them. The next most frequent final letters are E (12 per cent), Y (10 per cent) and D and T (6 per cent).
We want to maximise our chances of a match by using each letter just once, so factoring that into the data I’ve come up with SARED (a Scots word meaning “savoured”) or SALET (a light helmet) as pretty good bets. If choosing such obscure words feels like cheating, I like the look of SANER too.
Once you’ve plugged in your starter word, the trouble — or, as puzzle solvers call it, “fun” — begins.
I discovered this about a week ago, and have had to do it every day since!
R500sv
'Bravery is being the only one who knows you are scared'
It seems that, by using the hints each time, I was playing the "hard" version without knowing it. I've now adjusted the settings to make that permanent.
JV
John, as you are a expert cruciverbalist you are probably ahead of most of us because you understand the shapes of words.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/11/secret-winning-wordle-word-game
Stephen
Democratic dissent is not disloyalty, it is a positive civic duty
From The Times...
So what’s the best starter? Until a few weeks ago you might have answered “prawn cocktail”. But at 13 letters long, that won’t do. Your preferred starter must now contain only five letters and be the first step to victory in Wordle, the online word game that has briefly made puzzling fashionable.
Logic dictates that there should be an optimal starter word, which should be used every time you play. An analysis of the five-letter words in Collins Official Scrabble Words shows that S and E (10 per cent of the total) appear most often, followed by A (9 per cent), O (7 per cent) and R and I (6 per cent). It has thus been suggested that RAISE may be the optimal starter, but this fails to consider the frequency of letters in different positions.
By far the most common letter in first position is S (12 per cent), so let’s chalk that one in. In second position the top letters are A (17 per cent) and O (16 per cent). Third has A (10 per cent) and R (9 per cent). E (18 per cent) is by far the most frequent in fourth. The most common final letter is S (a massive 31 per cent), owing to the prevalence of plurals in the list — but since the Wordle word has yet to be a plural in 2022, it may be that the maker is reluctant to use them. The next most frequent final letters are E (12 per cent), Y (10 per cent) and D and T (6 per cent).
We want to maximise our chances of a match by using each letter just once, so factoring that into the data I’ve come up with SARED (a Scots word meaning “savoured”) or SALET (a light helmet) as pretty good bets. If choosing such obscure words feels like cheating, I like the look of SANER too.
Once you’ve plugged in your starter word, the trouble — or, as puzzle solvers call it, “fun” — begins.
Today's solution?
So i have just tested the SANER starter word and it was completed in 3!
Obviously this is a one off and will not be indicative of future performance!
R500sv
'Bravery is being the only one who knows you are scared'
Another fan of Wordle, day 11 today after seeing an article on the BBC news website.
Thanks for that link, Stephen. Fascinating! But you flatter me -- there are others far sharper.
Took me four goes today:
JV
I reckon my chances of beating today's very lucky shot is zero:
JV