Opener Lab
Compare OXBOW
Pick a word to compare against.
How OXBOW performs
Played first, OXBOW removes about 64.4% of the possible-answer list on average and scores 2.45 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, OXBOW left an average of 832 possible answers standing after the first guess. Its largest group in that replay came on July 21, 2026, when the answer was SHILL and 1341 candidates survived.
First-guess odds
| Outcome | OXBOW |
|---|---|
| First-turn solve* | 0% |
| At least one green | 10.4% |
| Any green or yellow | 43.2% |
| Whole row gray | 56.8% |
| Worst case answers left | 1341 |
*Treating every word in the possible-answer list as equally likely.