Opener Lab
ATONE vs TRACE
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. TRACE has the lower average in games solved within six: 3.46 guesses to 3.53 for ATONE.
Looking only at the opening row, TRACE has higher entropy (5.82 bits versus 5.56). That describes first-guess separation, not the full solve on its own.
One thing ATONE does better is damage control. Its worst feedback pattern leaves 194 possible answers, while TRACE can be left staring at 253.
| Metric | ATONE | TRACE |
|---|---|---|
| Elimination | 96.6% | 96.8% |
| Information | 5.56 bits | 5.82 bits |
| Avg remaining | 80 words | 76 words |
| Avg turns | 3.53 | 3.46 |
| Missed in six | 0 | 0 |
| Win rate | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Tier | A | S |
What to expect from the first guess
| Outcome | ATONE | TRACE |
|---|---|---|
| First-turn solve* | 0.04% | 0.04% |
| At least one green | 37.2% | 42.1% |
| Any green or yellow | 91.8% | 89.3% |
| Whole row gray | 8.2% | 10.7% |
| Worst case answers left | 194 | 253 |
*Treating every word in the possible-answer list as equally likely.
A fully gray row is rarer with ATONE: it happens 8.2% of the time, against 10.7% for TRACE.
How these two openers fit together
ATONE and TRACE share 3 letters (A, E, T). Played as a pair they cover 7 distinct letters, which still gives the second word room to do useful work.
Played back to back, ATONE then TRACE earns 7.78 bits of information in total, 1.96 bits more than the better word manages alone.
Past Wordle answers
- ATONE: Answer to the puzzle on June 14, 2022.
- TRACE: Answer to the puzzle on December 15, 2021.