Opener Lab
CARLE vs MAIRE
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 3.52 for MAIRE.
Looking only at the opening row, CARLE has higher entropy (5.76 bits versus 5.56). That describes first-guess separation, not the full solve on its own.
One thing MAIRE does better is damage control. Its worst feedback pattern leaves 219 possible answers, while CARLE can be left staring at 258.
| Metric | CARLE | MAIRE |
|---|---|---|
| Elimination | 96.7% | 96.6% |
| Information | 5.76 bits | 5.56 bits |
| Avg remaining | 77 words | 81 words |
| Avg turns | 3.46 | 3.52 |
| Missed in six | 0 | 0 |
| Win rate | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Tier | A | A |
What to expect from the first guess
| Outcome | CARLE | MAIRE |
|---|---|---|
| First-turn solve* | 0% | 0% |
| At least one green | 43.9% | 44.1% |
| Any green or yellow | 89.1% | 90.7% |
| Whole row gray | 10.9% | 9.3% |
| Worst case answers left | 258 | 219 |
*Treating every word in the possible-answer list as equally likely.
A fully gray row is rarer with MAIRE: it happens 9.3% of the time, against 10.9% for CARLE.
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
CARLE and MAIRE share 3 letters (A, E, R). Played as a pair they cover 7 distinct letters, which still gives the second word room to do useful work.
Played back to back, CARLE then MAIRE earns 7.47 bits of information in total, 1.71 bits more than the better word manages alone.
Past Wordle answers
- CARLE: Has not been a past Wordle answer in this site's history.
- MAIRE: Has not been a past Wordle answer in this site's history.