Wordle Rules — How to Play Wordle
Wordle is a simple but addictive daily word puzzle published by The New York Times. Every player gets the same word each day and has six tries to guess it. The rules are minimal, the feedback system is clever, and the game is over in minutes. Here is everything you need to know to play Wordle.
The Basic Rules of Wordle
1. Every day, Wordle reveals a new 5-letter secret word
2. You have six attempts to guess the word
3. Every guess must be a valid 5-letter English word
4. After each guess, the tiles change color to show how close you are
5. Use the color clues to narrow down your next guess
6. The game resets every day at midnight
Wordle Color Clues Explained
Understanding how to read Wordle's color feedback is the entire skill of the game:
🟩 GREEN means the letter is exactly right — correct letter, correct position. Keep this letter in the same position in your next guess.
🟨 YELLOW means the letter exists in the word but you have placed it in the wrong position. Move this letter to a different position in your next guess.
⬜ GREY means the letter does not appear in the word at all. Do not use this letter again (unless the word has repeated letters, in which case a second instance of a grey letter may still be relevant — this is an advanced concept).
Wordle Hard Mode
Wordle includes a Hard Mode option in the settings. In Hard Mode, any revealed green letter must be used in the same position in all future guesses, and any revealed yellow letter must be included in all future guesses. Hard Mode forces you to use your clues efficiently but also limits your flexibility to use process-of-elimination guesses.