Opener Lab

PIXIE vs SLART

See which word leaves you with the easier game.

SLART 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. SLART has the lower average in games solved within six: 3.55 guesses to 3.90 for PIXIE.

Looking only at the opening row, SLART has higher entropy (5.63 bits versus 3.60). That describes first-guess separation, not the full solve on its own.

MetricPIXIESLART
Elimination84.8%96.3%
Information3.60 bits5.63 bits
Avg remaining359 words88 words
Avg turns3.903.55
Win rate99.8%100.0%
TierFA

What to expect from the first guess

OutcomePIXIESLART
First-turn solve* 0.04% 0%
At least one green 35.8% 40.8%
Any green or yellow 69.3% 89.3%
Whole row gray 30.7% 10.7%
Worst case answers left 725 252

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

A fully gray row is rarer with SLART: it happens 10.7% of the time, against 30.7% for PIXIE.

SLART is not on the possible-answer list, so it cannot solve the game on turn one here. It can still be a useful guess.

How these two openers fit together

PIXIE and SLART have no letters in common. Played back to back they test 9 different letters, the most any two openers can manage.

Played back to back, PIXIE then SLART earns 8.51 bits of information in total, 2.88 bits more than the better word manages alone.

Past Wordle answers

  • PIXIE: Answer to the puzzle on January 9, 2023.
  • SLART: Has not been a past Wordle answer in this site's history.