Opener Lab

Compare BANNS

Pick a word to compare against.

BANNS C
88.2%
of words eliminated

How BANNS performs

Played first, BANNS removes about 88.2% of the possible-answer list on average and scores 4.02 bits of information. It is not on the possible-answer list, but it can still be useful because of the feedback groups it creates.

Tried against 1,859 past Wordle answers, BANNS left an average of 279 possible answers standing after the first guess. Its largest group in that replay came on July 20, 2026, when the answer was DIVER and 642 candidates survived.

First-guess odds

OutcomeBANNS
First-turn solve*0%
At least one green31.3%
Any green or yellow72.8%
Whole row gray27.2%
Worst case answers left642

*Treating every word in the possible-answer list as equally likely.