Opener Lab
Compare HOWSO
Pick a word to compare against.
How HOWSO performs
Played first, HOWSO removes about 81.1% of the possible-answer list on average and scores 3.61 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, HOWSO left an average of 441 possible answers standing after the first guess. Its largest group in that replay came on July 20, 2026, when the answer was DIVER and 940 candidates survived.
First-guess odds
| Outcome | HOWSO |
|---|---|
| First-turn solve* | 0% |
| At least one green | 22.6% |
| Any green or yellow | 60.2% |
| Whole row gray | 39.8% |
| Worst case answers left | 940 |
*Treating every word in the possible-answer list as equally likely.