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Solving Wordle using information theory

binghamton.edu

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Re: Solving Wordle using information theory

#11

Post by magneticnorth »

dredmorbius wrote: post #8

I'd quickly realised that a set of words which covered most of the alphabet (20 words, leaving b, g, j, q, v, and z excluded) allowed solving virtually all Wordle puzzles. The game quickly lost any challenge. wimpy crowd thank fuels Altering order might give faster results. The order presented leaves the most common letters (e, t) for last. Z is quite uncommon, q is virtually always followed by u, similarly common pa…

> The game quickly lost any challenge.

I only play on hard mode for this reason. My next guess must always be a possible answer based on my current information, and that varies the puzzle enough from day to day that I still find it enjoyable to play occasionally.

Re: Solving Wordle using information theory

#12

Post by drivers99 »

magneticnorth wrote: post #11
dredmorbius wrote: post #8

I'd quickly realised that a set of words which covered most of the alphabet (20 words, leaving b, g, j, q, v, and z excluded) allowed solving virtually all Wordle puzzles. The game quickly lost any challenge. wimpy crowd thank fuels Altering order might give faster results. The order presented leaves the most common letters (e, t) for last. Z is quite uncommon, q is virtually always followed by u, similarly common pa…

> The game quickly lost any challenge. I only play on hard mode for this reason. My next guess must always be a possible answer based on my current information, and that varies the puzzle enough from day to day that I still find it enjoyable to play occasionally.

Does that not lead you to situations where you have to guess the last letter on each round? Or do you choose words to avoid getting trapped in that situation in the first place?

Re: Solving Wordle using information theory

#15

Post by copypasterepeat »

drivers99 wrote: post #12
magneticnorth wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The game quickly lost any challenge. I only play on hard mode for this reason. My next guess must always be a possible answer based on my current information, and that varies the puzzle enough from day to day that I still find it enjoyable to play occasionally.

Does that not lead you to situations where you have to guess the last letter on each round? Or do you choose words to avoid getting trapped in that situation in the first place?

I try to avoid the common traps, but it can be tricky.

I also impose this additional constraint on myself, which the game doesn't enforce, that I can't reuse letters that have been marked gray. Sometimes you just can't think of the next word, or might be tempted to use a gray letter because that way you could get more information from other letters, but I avoid using them.

Re: Solving Wordle using information theory

#16

Post by magneticnorth »

drivers99 wrote: post #12
magneticnorth wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The game quickly lost any challenge. I only play on hard mode for this reason. My next guess must always be a possible answer based on my current information, and that varies the puzzle enough from day to day that I still find it enjoyable to play occasionally.

Does that not lead you to situations where you have to guess the last letter on each round? Or do you choose words to avoid getting trapped in that situation in the first place?

Yes, that does happen occasionally, and it's part of the game for me to try and avoid getting trapped like that.

Re: Solving Wordle using information theory

#17

Post by magneticnorth »

copypasterepeat wrote: post #15
drivers99 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does that not lead you to situations where you have to guess the last letter on each round? Or do you choose words to avoid getting trapped in that situation in the first place?

I try to avoid the common traps, but it can be tricky. I also impose this additional constraint on myself, which the game doesn't enforce, that I can't reuse letters that have been marked gray. Sometimes you just can't think of the next word, or might be tempted to use a gray letter because that way you could get more information from other letters, but I avoid using them.

yes, I do the same thing. I wish there was a way to get the implementation to enforce that rule too so I never accidentally try a word that I already know can't be the answer.

Re: Solving Wordle using information theory

#18

Post by Brendinooo »

dredmorbius wrote: post #8

I'd quickly realised that a set of words which covered most of the alphabet (20 words, leaving b, g, j, q, v, and z excluded) allowed solving virtually all Wordle puzzles. The game quickly lost any challenge. wimpy crowd thank fuels Altering order might give faster results. The order presented leaves the most common letters (e, t) for last. Z is quite uncommon, q is virtually always followed by u, similarly common pa…

gotta see how your strategy holds up in sexaginta-quattuordle

Re: Solving Wordle using information theory

#19

Post by dieselgate »

magneticnorth wrote: post #11
dredmorbius wrote: post #8

I'd quickly realised that a set of words which covered most of the alphabet (20 words, leaving b, g, j, q, v, and z excluded) allowed solving virtually all Wordle puzzles. The game quickly lost any challenge. wimpy crowd thank fuels Altering order might give faster results. The order presented leaves the most common letters (e, t) for last. Z is quite uncommon, q is virtually always followed by u, similarly common pa…

> The game quickly lost any challenge. I only play on hard mode for this reason. My next guess must always be a possible answer based on my current information, and that varies the puzzle enough from day to day that I still find it enjoyable to play occasionally.

I haven't played wordle much since it was purchased but NYTimes ran a story in the last couple days saying how "Hard mode" is actually easier based on their research. Just throwing it out there as food for thought not in a "gotcha" sort of way.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/upshot/wordle-hard-mode.h...

Re: Solving Wordle using information theory

#20

Post by bee_rider »

kens wrote: post #14

What I'm interested in is the best starting word. Using Shannon entropy, the paper finds that it is "tares".

I think it depends on whether you use a conventional dictionary as the population of possible words, the valid guess list, or the (known, at the time, for the originally version of the game at least) possible solution list. I guess you could also use the possible solution list minus the words that had already been guessed in previous iterations.

I mean, you had to give yourself an artificial constraint because IIRC the next solution was actually built into the page anyway, not obfuscated in any way.

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