Opener Lab

Compare NEARS

Pick a word to compare against.

NEARS A
96.5%
of words eliminated

How NEARS performs

Played first, NEARS removes about 96.5% of the possible-answer list on average and scores 5.51 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, NEARS left an average of 81 possible answers standing after the first guess. Its largest group in that replay came on July 18, 2026, when the answer was BOOTH and 228 candidates survived.

First-guess odds

OutcomeNEARS
First-turn solve*0%
At least one green28.4%
Any green or yellow90.3%
Whole row gray9.7%
Worst case answers left228

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