Opener Lab

JAZZY vs TRACE

See which word leaves you with the easier game.

TRACE leads in the previous complete six-turn benchmark

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 same solver played from both openers. TRACE has the lower average in games solved within six: 3.53 guesses to 4.14 for JAZZY.

Looking only at the opening row, TRACE has higher entropy (5.82 bits versus 2.32). That describes first-guess separation, not the full solve on its own.

MetricJAZZYTRACE
Elimination69.8%96.8%
Information2.32 bits5.82 bits
Avg remaining712 words76 words
Avg turns4.143.53
Win rate99.7%99.9%
TierFS

What to expect from the first guess

OutcomeJAZZYTRACE
First-turn solve* 0.04% 0.04%
At least one green 26.7% 42.1%
Any green or yellow 52.1% 89.2%
Whole row gray 47.9% 10.8%
Worst case answers left 1129 254

*Treating every word in the possible-answer list as equally likely.

A fully gray row is rarer with TRACE: it happens 10.8% of the time, against 47.9% for JAZZY.

How these two openers fit together

JAZZY and TRACE overlap on a single letter (A), so the pair tests 8 different letters between them.

Played back to back, JAZZY then TRACE earns 6.80 bits of information in total, 0.98 bits more than the better word manages alone.

Past Wordle answers

  • JAZZY: Answer to the puzzle on June 1, 2023.
  • TRACE: Answer to the puzzle on December 15, 2021.