How to Play Wordle: A Beginner’s Guide to the Rules and Colors
Learn how Wordle works, what the green, yellow, and gray tiles mean, how repeated letters work, and how to make smarter guesses from your very first puzzle.
Table of Contents
- What Is Wordle, Exactly?
- The Rules, in Plain Terms
- What the Colors Actually Mean
- What Does Green Mean?
- What Does Yellow Mean?
- What Does Gray Mean?
- How Repeated Letters Work
- A Real Game, Step by Step
- Where to Actually Play Wordle
- What Hard Mode Changes
- Tips That Actually Help Beginners
- Common Beginner Mistakes
- A Simple Wordle Plan
- Wordle FAQs
- Final Wordle Tip
You get six guesses. One hidden word. Five letters. That’s Wordle.
If you’ve never played, don’t worry. It takes about two minutes to learn and a lifetime to get good at. The basic idea is simple: guess a five-letter word, read the colored tiles, and use those clues to make your next guess smarter.
What Is Wordle, Exactly?
Wordle is a word-guessing game. Every player gets the same puzzle each day. You type a five-letter word, press Enter, and the tiles change color to show how close your guess was.
Josh Wardle built the game for his partner, who loves word puzzles. He released it publicly in October 2021. Within a few months, Wordle had grown from a small game into a daily habit for millions of players.
The New York Times bought Wordle in January 2022, and the game has continued there ever since.
One reason Wordle became so popular is the way its results are easy to share without revealing the answer. Players can post their grid of colored squares and show how many guesses they needed without spoiling the word for everyone else.
Five Letters
Every daily answer is a five-letter word.
Six Guesses
You get six attempts to find the hidden answer.
One Daily Puzzle
Everyone gets the same daily Wordle puzzle.
Simple Clues
Green, yellow, and gray tiles tell you what to do next.
You don’t need an account just to play. Signing in can help keep your game statistics and progress available across devices.
The Rules, in Plain Terms
There is a five-letter word hidden behind the puzzle. You have six chances to find it.
Each guess needs to be a valid word that Wordle recognizes. You cannot simply type random letters and submit them.
After every guess, the tiles change color.
Green
The letter is correct and in the correct position.
Yellow
The letter is in the answer, but it is in the wrong position.
Gray
That letter is not needed in that quantity or position according to the answer.
Read those colors before making your next guess. That’s really the heart of Wordle: guess, read, and adjust.
A new puzzle appears each day. If you are signed in, the game can also keep track of things such as games played, win percentage, and streaks.
What the Colors Actually Mean
The colors are the most important part of Wordle. They tell you exactly how useful each letter in your guess was.
New players often understand green immediately but get confused about yellow and gray, especially when a guess contains repeated letters.
What Does Green Mean?
A green tile means the letter is correct and is sitting in exactly the right position.
If A is green in position two, A belongs in position two. Do not move it in future guesses.
Green tiles give you the strongest clues because they tell you both which letter is correct and where it goes.
What Does Yellow Mean?
Yellow means the letter is in the hidden word, but it is not in the position where you guessed it.
If A turns yellow in position three, the answer contains A, but A cannot be in position three.
On your next guess, move A somewhere else.
The example above shows the position that A cannot occupy. You still need to find where it belongs.
If the same letter becomes yellow in another position later, that position is ruled out too. Each yellow tile gives you another piece of information.
What Does Gray Mean?
Gray usually means that the letter does not appear in the answer.
If all five letters in your first guess are gray, that can still be useful. You have just eliminated five letters from consideration.
Gray letters should normally stay out of your future guesses.
Gray Is Still Information
An all-gray guess may feel disappointing, but it has removed five letters from the board. That can make your next guess much easier to choose.
There is one important exception: repeated letters. If your guess contains the same letter more than once, one copy can be colored while another copy is gray.
How Repeated Letters Work
This is the part of Wordle that confuses beginners most.
Imagine the answer contains only one E, but your guess contains two E’s.
Wordle can mark one E green or yellow and the other E gray.
One E in the Answer
If your guess uses E twice, Wordle does not automatically confirm that the answer contains two E’s.
Colored E
The green or yellow E confirms that at least one E is present.
Gray E
The gray copy can mean there is no additional E available for that extra occurrence.
Read All Five Tiles
Repeated-letter results need to be understood together rather than reading one tile in isolation.
For example, words such as SHEEP, SPEED, BLOOM, and LEVEL contain repeated letters.
A Real Game, Step by Step
Let’s walk through a complete example. Suppose the hidden answer is CRIMP.
Guess 1 — SLATE
S, L, A, T, and E all come back gray. That may look like a bad start, but you have eliminated five common letters immediately.
Guess 2 — GRIND
G is gray. R is yellow. I is yellow. N and D are gray. You now know that R and I are in the answer, but neither is in the position you guessed.
Guess 3 — PRICK
P, R, I, and C all turn yellow while K is gray. You have now confirmed four of the five letters in the answer. The main challenge is putting them in the correct positions.
Guess 4 — CRIMP
All five tiles turn green. You solved the puzzle in four guesses.
That’s the basic Wordle process in action: every guess should make the next decision easier.
Where to Actually Play Wordle
The official game is available through The New York Times Games website. Wordle can be played directly in a web browser without downloading anything.
There is also a New York Times Games app for iPhone and Android, which includes Wordle along with other games such as Connections, Spelling Bee, and the Crossword.
Stick With the Official Game
Be careful with random Wordle copies in app stores. They may use different word lists, include advertising or tracking, or simply not behave like the original game.
If you want the same daily puzzle everyone else is sharing, use the official New York Times version.
What Hard Mode Changes
Hard Mode adds an extra rule to Wordle.
Once a letter turns green or yellow, your future guesses have to respect that information.
Green Letters Stay
A green letter must remain in the exact position where you found it.
Yellow Letters Must Be Used
A yellow letter must appear in future guesses, but in a different position.
Less Freedom
You cannot freely use a guess just to test completely new letters if that guess ignores required clues.
More Challenging
Several possible answers can become harder to separate because every guess has to follow the clues already found.
You can turn Hard Mode on through the gear icon before making your first guess of the puzzle.
Hard Mode changes the way you think. Instead of freely testing new letters, every guess has to build on what you already know.
If you solve a puzzle in Hard Mode, the result can be identified in your share information so others know you played with the stricter rules.
Tips That Actually Help Beginners
You don’t need complicated tricks to improve. A few simple habits make a big difference.
Start With Common Letters
Words such as SLATE, CRANE, and TRACE test several common vowels and consonants.
Move Yellow Letters
If a letter is yellow, do not put it back in the same position. Use another possible position.
Use Gray Letters Wisely
Avoid letters that you have already ruled out unless repeated letter logic gives you a reason.
Watch for Patterns
Common endings and letter combinations can help narrow the answer once you have enough clues.
You also don’t need to rush. There is no timer forcing you to type your next guess immediately.
Slow Down and Read the Board
Take a moment after every guess. Look at all five tiles together. Think about what is confirmed, what is ruled out, and what still needs testing before you submit another word.
Common Beginner Mistakes
Most new players make the same few mistakes. Avoiding them can immediately make Wordle easier.
A Simple Wordle Plan for Beginners
If you want a simple method to follow every day, use this four-step approach.
Guess 1 — Test Common Letters
Start with a five-letter word that checks several common vowels and consonants. Avoid repeating letters when possible.
Guess 2 — Read Every Color
Keep green letters in place, move yellow letters, and avoid gray letters. Add useful new letters whenever possible.
Guess 3 — Narrow the Possibilities
Stop thinking about every five-letter word. Focus only on words that fit your confirmed letters and positions.
Guess 4 — Solve
Check every letter and position against the clues you have collected, then make your best answer.
Wordle FAQs
How many guesses do I get in Wordle?
You get six guesses to find the hidden five-letter word. If you use all six guesses without solving it, Wordle reveals the answer.
What does a green tile mean?
Green means the letter is correct and is in the correct position. Keep that letter in the same position in future guesses.
What does a yellow tile mean?
Yellow means the letter appears in the answer but is in the wrong position. Keep the letter but move it somewhere else.
What does a gray tile mean?
Gray usually means the letter is not in the answer. However, repeated letters can make one copy gray while another copy is green or yellow.
Why did one repeated letter turn gray?
Wordle accounts for how many copies of a letter are actually in the answer. If your guess contains more copies than the answer, the extra copy can be gray.
Can I change the difficulty of Wordle?
You can turn on Hard Mode, which requires future guesses to use confirmed green and yellow letters according to their rules.
Is Wordle free?
Yes. Wordle is available to play through The New York Times Games website, and Wordle is also available in the New York Times Games app.
Does everyone get the same Wordle each day?
Yes. The daily Wordle puzzle is the same for players, which is why people can compare their results without revealing the answer.
What is the best first word for Wordle?
There is no single first word that is always best. Words such as SLATE, CRANE, and TRACE are useful because they test several common letters without repeating one.
Do I need an account to play Wordle?
No. You can play Wordle without creating an account. Signing in can help keep your statistics and progress available across devices.
Final Wordle Tip
Wordle looks like a guessing game, but the best players are not simply guessing random words.
They are reading the clues.
A green letter tells you what to keep and where to keep it.
A yellow letter tells you what to keep but where not to put it.
A gray letter usually tells you what to remove from consideration.
Once you understand those three colors, the entire game becomes easier to follow.
That’s the simple habit that turns Wordle from a random guessing game into a puzzle you can solve with a plan.