Opener Lab
ALTER vs CARLE
See which word leaves you with the easier game.
Both words are in the current screen of 182 openers, tested against 2,358 answers. Exact misses rank first; average guesses among wins break ties.
The same solver played from both openers. CARLE has the lower average in games solved within six: 3.46 guesses to 3.50 for ALTER.
Looking only at the opening row, CARLE has higher entropy (5.76 bits versus 5.71). That describes first-guess separation, not the full solve on its own.
One thing ALTER does better is damage control. Its worst feedback pattern leaves 204 possible answers, while CARLE can be left staring at 258.
| Metric | ALTER | CARLE |
|---|---|---|
| Elimination | 96.9% | 96.7% |
| Information | 5.71 bits | 5.76 bits |
| Avg remaining | 72 words | 77 words |
| Avg turns | 3.50 | 3.46 |
| Missed in six | 0 | 0 |
| Win rate | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Tier | A | A |
What to expect from the first guess
| Outcome | ALTER | CARLE |
|---|---|---|
| First-turn solve* | 0.04% | 0% |
| At least one green | 31.8% | 43.9% |
| Any green or yellow | 91.3% | 89.1% |
| Whole row gray | 8.7% | 10.9% |
| Worst case answers left | 204 | 258 |
*Treating every word in the possible-answer list as equally likely.
A fully gray row is rarer with ALTER: it happens 8.7% of the time, against 10.9% for CARLE.
CARLE is not on the possible-answer list, so it cannot solve the game on turn one here. It can still be a useful guess.
How these two openers fit together
ALTER and CARLE share 4 of their 5 letters (A, E, L, R), 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, ALTER then CARLE earns 7.30 bits of information in total, 1.53 bits more than the better word manages alone.
Past Wordle answers
- ALTER: Answer to the puzzle on January 20, 2023.
- CARLE: Has not been a past Wordle answer in this site's history.