Opener Lab
Compare MERLS
Pick a word to compare against.
How MERLS performs
Played first, MERLS removes about 95.1% of the possible-answer list on average and scores 5.09 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, MERLS left an average of 116 possible answers standing after the first guess. Its largest group in that replay came on July 18, 2026, when the answer was BOOTH and 289 candidates survived.
First-guess odds
| Outcome | MERLS |
|---|---|
| First-turn solve* | 0% |
| At least one green | 27.4% |
| Any green or yellow | 87.7% |
| Whole row gray | 12.3% |
| Worst case answers left | 289 |
*Treating every word in the possible-answer list as equally likely.