Opener Lab
Compare HALES
Pick a word to compare against.
How HALES performs
Played first, HALES removes about 95.8% of the possible-answer list on average and scores 5.28 bits of information. It is not on the possible-answer list, but it can still be useful because of the feedback groups it creates.
Tried against 1,859 past Wordle answers, HALES left an average of 98 possible answers standing after the first guess. Its largest group in that replay came on July 6, 2026, when the answer was TODDY and 250 candidates survived.
First-guess odds
| Outcome | HALES |
|---|---|
| First-turn solve* | 0% |
| At least one green | 31.1% |
| Any green or yellow | 89.4% |
| Whole row gray | 10.6% |
| Worst case answers left | 250 |
*Treating every word in the possible-answer list as equally likely.