Wordle Strategy Guides

Hi, I'm Barbie, and I'm a Wordle junkie. I got hooked playing every day with my students and family, swapping hints and racing to solve it before the day got started. These guides are everything I'd tell a friend who wants to get better, from first-day basics to word-family traps. The statistics come from a real word list, not guesswork.

All 12 guides

• A Beginner's Guide to Wordle: How the Daily Word Puzzle WorksNew to Wordle? Learn how the six guesses and green, yellow and gray tiles work, plus a simple game plan for solving your first puzzles with confidence.
• Why I Start With STAIR (and Other Strong Wordle Openers)Why STAIR is my go-to Wordle opener, how it compares with RAISE, SLATE, CRANE and ADIEU on a real word list, and how to choose a starting word that suits you.
• The Second Guess: How to Make Your Next Wordle Word CountA practical Wordle second-guess strategy: when to test five new letters, when to start building the answer, and how to read your first row of colors.
• Wordle Hard Mode Tips: Playing Within the Rules Without Getting TrappedWhat Wordle Hard Mode actually requires, why it can trap you in word families, and practical tips for choosing guesses when every hint must be reused.
• The Most Common Letters (and Where They Sit) in Five-Letter WordsReal letter and position statistics from the 2,315-word original Wordle answer list, and how to use them to pick better guesses.
• Double Letters in Wordle: How to Spot Them and Stop Missing ThemAbout a third of Wordle answers repeat a letter. Learn how the colors work with repeated letters, which ones repeat most, and when to guess a double.
• Tricky Endings and Word Traps: -IGHT, -OUND, _ATCH and FriendsHow to escape Wordle word families like _IGHT, _OUND, _ATCH and SHA_E, with real counts from the original answer list and a step-by-step plan for trap days.
• Vowels vs. Consonants in Wordle: Which Should You Hunt First?Should your Wordle guesses chase vowels or consonants? Real counts from the original answer list show how many vowels most answers have, and why consonants often matter more.
• How to Use Our Three Wordle Hints Without Spoiling Your Own PuzzleHow Word Junkie's three daily Wordle hints work, which one to open when, and how to get just enough help while keeping the fun of solving it yourself.
• Wordle With Kids and in the Classroom: Tips for Teachers and FamiliesPractical, low-pressure ideas for playing Wordle with students and family, from whole-class warm-ups to spelling practice and spoiler etiquette.
• How to Keep Your Wordle Streak AlivePractical habits for protecting a Wordle streak: how streaks work, when to slow down, how to use hints wisely, and what to do on a really tough day.
• Common Wordle Mistakes (and Easy Fixes)Ten of the most common Wordle mistakes, from reusing gray letters to forgetting double letters, and simple habits that fix each one.

Not sure where to start?

Brand new to the game? Begin with a beginner's guide to wordle. Already playing every day? Try my second-guess strategy and the guide to tricky word families. And when you just need a nudge, today's hints are always spoiler-free.

Word Junkie is an unofficial fan site and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to The New York Times.