What is Wordle?
Wordle is a daily five-letter word puzzle published by The New York Times. Every player worldwide receives the same hidden word each day and has six guesses to find it. Each guess must be a valid five-letter word. After you submit, the tiles turn green, yellow or grey to show which letters appear in the word and whether they occupy the correct position. A new puzzle releases at midnight in your time zone. The daily puzzle requires no subscription or account, though a free account syncs your statistics across devices.
How to play Wordle
- Open the daily Wordle on the web, in the Games app, or in the News app.
- Enter any valid five-letter word in the top row and press Enter.
- Check the tile colours. Green means the letter is in the word and in the right position. Yellow means it is in the word but in the wrong position. Grey means it is not in the word.
- Use the feedback to choose your next guess. The on-screen keyboard shows the same colours for letters you have tried.
- Solve the word within six guesses. The round ends when you solve it, fail on the sixth guess, or the next daily puzzle arrives at midnight.
- Open the statistics panel to view your streak, then press Share to copy your colour grid.
Wordle suits players who want one short word deduction a day with a hard stop. Six guesses, one answer, and nothing to grind afterwards unless you pay for the archive. It rewards reading colour feedback and spending a small budget of guesses well. Everyone gets the same word, so it works as a shared ritual. Skip it if you want several puzzles a day without a subscription, or if a strict daily limit frustrates rather than motivates you. A puzzle takes a few minutes, and the streak only counts if you finish before midnight local time.
Reading the feedback
Press Enter to check a row. A tile turns green when its letter is in the word and in the correct position, yellow when the letter is in the word but in the wrong position, and grey when the word does not contain it. The on-screen keyboard uses the same colours, with each key showing the best state found for that letter. High Contrast Mode uses orange for green and blue for yellow. When you solve the puzzle, the final row turns fully green.
Share copies the puzzle number and your score out of six, followed by a grid of coloured squares showing one row for each guess without revealing any letters.
Modes
Daily puzzle
A new numbered five-letter word is released at midnight in your time zone. Everyone gets the same word. You can play for free on the web, in the Games app, or in the News app, without an account.
Hard Mode is available from the cog icon. Any revealed hints must be used in later guesses. You can enable it only at the start of a round, and a shared result shows an asterisk after the score.
WordleBot is an analysis tool for New York Times Games, All Access, and Home Delivery subscribers. It analyzes your completed Wordle and assesses how skilful or lucky you were. The end screen links to it, and the Beat the Bot badge appears when you solve the puzzle in fewer steps than the standard bot.
The Wordle Archive contains every past Wordle since June 19, 2021, for New York Times Games and All Access subscribers. Archive games count toward Played, Win %, and Guess Distribution, but not streaks. Once completed, an archive puzzle cannot be replayed.
Create Your Wordle Puzzle
Subscribers can build a custom Wordle of four to seven letters with an optional hint and share it by link. Anyone can solve a custom puzzle, subscriber or not, on the web or in the Games app.
Tips and strategy
- Open with a word that tests several distinct common letters. The first row gathers information.
- Treat green and yellow as different facts. Green fixes a letter in its place; yellow confirms the letter is in the word, so move it to a new position on the next guess.
- Tiles tell you whether letters appear, not how many times. A green or yellow tile confirms that the letter is in the word, while a grey tile rules it out. A doubled letter remains possible until the tiles say otherwise.
- Every guess must be a valid five-letter word, including an eliminating probe. Plan probes that reuse no grey letters.
- Hard Mode requires every revealed hint in your later guesses, and you can switch it on only at the start of a round. Enable it before the first word if you want the extra constraint.
- Solve before midnight in your time zone. Finishing after the day rolls over breaks the streak, and archive games never count towards it.
Popular questions
How many guesses do I get?
Six. Each guess must be a valid five-letter word, and the round ends when you find the word, when the sixth guess fails, or when the next daily Wordle is published at midnight local time.
When does a new Wordle come out?
Every day at midnight in your time zone. The game also offers a daily reminder email you can sign up for from the help panel.
Do I need an account or a subscription?
Not for the daily puzzle. A free New York Times account is recommended because it links your statistics and streak across devices. WordleBot, the archive and custom puzzles need a New York Times Games, All Access or Home Delivery subscription.
Can I play past Wordles?
Yes, with a New York Times Games or All Access subscription. The Wordle Archive goes back to June 19, 2021. Archive games count towards Played, Win % and Guess Distribution but not towards streaks, and a completed puzzle cannot be replayed.
How do I share my result?
After the round ends, open the statistics panel and press Share. The game copies a text result with the puzzle number and your score out of six above a grid of green, yellow and grey squares, one row per guess and no letters, so you can paste it anywhere without spoiling the word.