Opener Lab

CARLE vs PRINT

See which word leaves you with the easier game.

PRINT leads in the previous complete six-turn benchmark

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. PRINT has the lower average in games solved within six: 3.54 guesses to 3.56 for CARLE.

Looking only at the opening row, CARLE has higher entropy (5.76 bits versus 5.12). That describes first-guess separation, not the full solve on its own.

One thing CARLE does better is damage control. Its worst feedback pattern leaves 258 possible answers, while PRINT can be left staring at 417.

MetricCARLEPRINT
Elimination96.7%94.0%
Information5.76 bits5.12 bits
Avg remaining77 words142 words
Avg turns3.563.54
Win rate99.9%100.0%
TierAB

What to expect from the first guess

OutcomeCARLEPRINT
First-turn solve* 0% 0.04%
At least one green 43.9% 35.9%
Any green or yellow 89.1% 82.3%
Whole row gray 10.9% 17.7%
Worst case answers left 258 417

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

A fully gray row is rarer with CARLE: it happens 10.9% of the time, against 17.7% for PRINT.

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

CARLE and PRINT overlap on a single letter (R), so the pair tests 9 different letters between them.

Played back to back, CARLE then PRINT earns 9.06 bits of information in total, 3.30 bits more than the better word manages alone.

Past Wordle answers

  • CARLE: Has not been a past Wordle answer in this site's history.
  • PRINT: Answer to the puzzle on August 19, 2021.