Opener Lab
ALOES vs SLANE
See which word leaves you with the easier game.
These game-length figures come from the previous complete opener benchmark against its 2,354-answer snapshot, ranked by average guesses among games solved within six. Its answer snapshot and continuation policy are separate from today's solver recommendations.
The same solver played from both openers. SLANE has the lower average in games solved within six: 3.54 guesses to 3.62 for ALOES.
Looking only at the opening row, SLANE has higher entropy (5.77 bits versus 5.53). That describes first-guess separation, not the full solve on its own.
One thing ALOES does better is damage control. Its worst feedback pattern leaves 178 possible answers, while SLANE can be left staring at 235.
| Metric | ALOES | SLANE |
|---|---|---|
| Elimination | 96.6% | 96.8% |
| Information | 5.53 bits | 5.77 bits |
| Avg remaining | 79 words | 76 words |
| Avg turns | 3.62 | 3.54 |
| Win rate | 100.0% | 99.9% |
| Tier | A | A |
What to expect from the first guess
| Outcome | ALOES | SLANE |
|---|---|---|
| First-turn solve* | 0% | 0% |
| At least one green | 34.8% | 46.3% |
| Any green or yellow | 92.9% | 90.0% |
| Whole row gray | 7.1% | 10.0% |
| Worst case answers left | 178 | 235 |
*Treating every word in the possible-answer list as equally likely.
A fully gray row is rarer with ALOES: it happens 7.1% of the time, against 10.0% for SLANE.
Neither word is on the possible-answer list, so neither can solve the game on turn one here. Both can still be useful guesses.
How these two openers fit together
ALOES and SLANE share 4 of their 5 letters (A, E, L, S), so as a pair they only cover 6 distinct letters. Treat them as alternatives rather than partners, because playing both wastes most of the second guess.
Played back to back, ALOES then SLANE earns 7.11 bits of information in total, 1.35 bits more than the better word manages alone.
Past Wordle answers
- ALOES: Has not been a past Wordle answer in this site's history.
- SLANE: Has not been a past Wordle answer in this site's history.