Opener Lab
CARLE vs SMART
See which word leaves you with the easier game.
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 six-turn results are effectively tied: when the same solver plays from each word, CARLE averages 3.56 guesses and SMART averages 3.56 in games solved within six.
Looking only at the opening row, CARLE has higher entropy (5.76 bits versus 5.25). That describes first-guess separation, not the full solve on its own.
| Metric | CARLE | SMART |
|---|---|---|
| Elimination | 96.7% | 94.8% |
| Information | 5.76 bits | 5.25 bits |
| Avg remaining | 77 words | 124 words |
| Avg turns | 3.56 | 3.56 |
| Win rate | 99.9% | 100.0% |
| Tier | A | B |
What to expect from the first guess
| Outcome | CARLE | SMART |
|---|---|---|
| First-turn solve* | 0% | 0.04% |
| At least one green | 43.9% | 37.1% |
| Any green or yellow | 89.1% | 84.6% |
| Whole row gray | 10.9% | 15.4% |
| Worst case answers left | 258 | 363 |
*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 15.4% for SMART.
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 SMART share 2 letters (A, R). Played as a pair they cover 8 distinct letters, which still gives the second word room to do useful work.
Played back to back, CARLE then SMART earns 8.43 bits of information in total, 2.67 bits more than the better word manages alone.
Past Wordle answers
- CARLE: Has not been a past Wordle answer in this site's history.
- SMART: Answer to the puzzle on November 13, 2021.