Opener Lab

Compare PALUS

Pick a word to compare against.

PALUS C
92.9%
of words eliminated

How PALUS performs

Played first, PALUS removes about 92.9% of the possible-answer list on average and scores 4.76 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, PALUS left an average of 172 possible answers standing after the first guess. Its largest group in that replay came on July 20, 2026, when the answer was DIVER and 461 candidates survived.

First-guess odds

OutcomePALUS
First-turn solve*0%
At least one green26.1%
Any green or yellow80.5%
Whole row gray19.5%
Worst case answers left461

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