How to Play Wordle — Rules, Tips, Best Starting Words & FAQs

Wordle is the daily five-letter word game from The New York Times. Everyone gets the same puzzle each day; you have six guesses. For live hints and the solution, open today's Wordle page — this article covers rules, colors, and strategy.

What Is Wordle?

Wordle was created by Josh Wardle in 2021 and acquired by The New York Times in January 2022. A new word drops after midnight local time. The goal is to guess the word in as few tries as possible — many players track streaks and share emoji grids (no spoilers).

Rules

TileMeaning🟩 GreenCorrect letter, correct position🟨 YellowLetter is in the word, wrong position⬛ Gray / darkLetter is not in the word

Words must be real five-letter words from the game dictionary. Hard mode (optional in settings) forces you to reuse revealed green and yellow letters on subsequent guesses.

Best Starting Words