Opener Lab
CRANE vs RAINE
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. CRANE has the lower average in games solved within six: 3.46 guesses to 3.48 for RAINE.
Looking only at the opening row, RAINE has higher entropy (5.78 bits versus 5.73). That describes first-guess separation, not the full solve on its own.
One thing RAINE does better is damage control. Its worst feedback pattern leaves 199 possible answers, while CRANE can be left staring at 271.
| Metric | CRANE | RAINE |
|---|---|---|
| Elimination | 96.6% | 97.1% |
| Information | 5.73 bits | 5.78 bits |
| Avg remaining | 81 words | 68 words |
| Avg turns | 3.46 | 3.48 |
| Missed in six | 0 | 0 |
| Win rate | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Tier | A | A |
What to expect from the first guess
| Outcome | CRANE | RAINE |
|---|---|---|
| First-turn solve* | 0.04% | 0% |
| At least one green | 43.6% | 43.9% |
| Any green or yellow | 88.5% | 91.6% |
| Whole row gray | 11.5% | 8.4% |
| Worst case answers left | 271 | 199 |
*Treating every word in the possible-answer list as equally likely.
A fully gray row is rarer with RAINE: it happens 8.4% of the time, against 11.5% for CRANE.
RAINE 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
CRANE and RAINE share 4 of their 5 letters (A, E, N, R), so as a pair they only cover 6 distinct letters. Treat them as alternatives rather than partners, because playing both wastes most of the second guess.
Played back to back, CRANE then RAINE earns 6.99 bits of information in total, 1.21 bits more than the better word manages alone.
Past Wordle answers
- CRANE: Answer to the puzzle on June 21, 2023.
- RAINE: Has not been a past Wordle answer in this site's history.