Opener Lab
Compare DEFER
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How DEFER performs
Played first, DEFER removes about 88.5% of the possible-answer list on average and scores 4.28 bits of information. Roughly 29% of the time at least one letter lands in the right spot.
Tried against 1,859 past Wordle answers, DEFER left an average of 265 possible answers standing after the first guess. Its largest group in that replay came on July 21, 2026, when the answer was SHILL and 657 candidates survived. It has been the daily answer once.
First-guess odds
| Outcome | DEFER |
|---|---|
| First-turn solve* | 0.04% |
| At least one green | 29.1% |
| Any green or yellow | 72.1% |
| Whole row gray | 27.9% |
| Worst case answers left | 657 |
*Treating every word in the possible-answer list as equally likely.