Wordle High-Scoring Strategy: How to Guess the Correct Answer in the Fewest Moves?

Wordle has taken the world by storm, challenging players’ logical reasoning and vocabulary skills. Have you ever envied those who guess the answer in just three or four moves? Do they have a secret strategy? The answer is—yes!

Today, we’ll dive into the mathematical strategies behind Wordle and teach you how to guess the correct answer in the fewest steps, improving both your win rate and bragging rights!

1. Choose an Excellent Starting Word

With only six attempts in Wordle, the first guess is crucial. A good starting word can significantly reduce the number of possible answers, making subsequent guesses more precise.

What Makes a Good Starting Word?

✅ Includes common letters: According to statistics, the most common letters in English are E, A, R, O, T, L, I, S, N.
✅ Avoids repeating letters: For example, "CHEEK" contains E twice, which provides less information.
✅ Balanced vowels and consonants: This helps determine the vowel-consonant structure of the target word quickly.

Recommended Starting Words

📌 "CRANE" (contains C, R, A, N, E)
📌 "SLATE" (contains S, L, A, T, E)
📌 "ROAST" (contains R, O, A, S, T)
📌 "ADIEU" (great for testing vowels A, D, I, E, U)

Why Are These Words Effective?

• They maximize coverage of high-frequency letters.
• Studies show "CRANE" has the highest information entropy, meaning it reduces the number of possible answers the fastest.

2. Optimize Guesses Based on Feedback

Wordle provides three types of feedback: 🟩 Green (letter is correct and in the right position) → Keep it.
🟨 Yellow (letter is correct but in the wrong position) → Rearrange it.
⬜ Gray (letter is incorrect) → Avoid using it in future guesses.

How to Optimize the Second Guess?

If your first guess is "CRANE", and the feedback is:

• C⬜ R🟨 A⬜ N⬜ E🟩

This means:

✅ C, A, N are incorrect—don’t use them again.
✅ R is in the word but in the wrong position.
✅ E is correct and in the right place.

✅ Next, choose a word that:

• Avoids C, A, and N.
• Repositions R.
• Introduces new high-frequency letters like T, O, L, I.

A great second guess would be "STORE", which:

• Retains R but moves it to a new position.
• Keeps E in the correct position.
• Introduces S, T, and O for additional clues.

3. Use Information Gain to Your Advantage

What is Information Gain? Simply put, information gain refers to how much a guess helps eliminate incorrect answers. The more possibilities a word removes, the better the guess.

How to Choose High-Information Gain Words?

✅ In the second guess, introduce as many new letters as possible to maximize information gain.
✅ By the third guess, start narrowing down specific arrangements.

Example:

• First guess "CRANE" (feedback shows A, N, C are incorrect).
• Second guess "MOUTH" (introduces M, O, U, T, H).
• After two guesses, you can eliminate 70-80% of incorrect answers.

4. Don't Rely Solely on Intuition

Many players rely on gut feelings, wasting valuable attempts. Instead, follow common English word structures and patterns.

✅ Common five-letter word patterns:

• Ending -IGHT (e.g., BRIGHT, FLIGHT)
• Ending -OUND (e.g., SOUND, FOUND)
• Ending -TION (e.g., ACTION, MOTION)
• Ending -ABLE (e.g., TABLE, STABLE)

Example: If your feedback is "T🟩 R🟨 A⬜ I🟩 N⬜", you know:

• T and I are correct and in the right position.
• R is in the word but needs repositioning.
• A and N are incorrect.

A logical next guess would be "TRICK", which follows common word patterns.

5. Lock in the Answer by the Third Guess

If you haven’t determined the answer by the third guess, aim for a word that eliminates the maximum number of remaining possibilities.

Example:

• First guess "CRANE"
• Second guess "MOUNT"
• Feedback: M🟨 O🟩 U🟨 N🟩 T⬜

Now you know:

✅ O and N are in the correct positions.
✅ M and U exist but need to be repositioned.
✅ T is incorrect.

A great next guess is "MOUND", which is likely the correct answer!

6. Practice & Observe Patterns

Wordle has certain word preferences, so you can:

✅ Analyze past Wordle answers to identify recurring patterns.
✅ Record your guessing strategies to see which works best.
✅ Use helper tools (such as Wordle Solvers) to learn optimal starting words.

So…how to Guess the Correct Answer in the Fewest Moves?

🎯 Choose the best starting word: "CRANE," "SLATE," "ROAST."
🎯 Optimize guesses based on feedback to maximize information gain.
🎯 Use an information-based strategy to eliminate possibilities efficiently.
🎯 Avoid relying purely on intuition; follow common word structures.
🎯 Lock in the answer by the third guess to minimize remaining options.
🎯 Practice and recognize patterns to improve consistency and success rate.

By following these strategies, you should be able to guess the Wordle answer consistently within 3-4 moves! Give it a try! 🎉