Researchers find a Wordle strategy with a 99% success rate
Researchers at Binghamton University in the United States have developed a mathematical strategy that can solve Wordle puzzles with a success rate of around 99%. Instead of simply choosing words containing the most common letters, the method focuses on gaining as much new information as possible with every guess.
The strategy uses Shannon entropy, a concept from information theory that measures uncertainty. After each attempt, the algorithm evaluates the remaining possible answers and selects a word that is expected to eliminate the largest number of them.
The best guess does not have to be the answer
One of the key findings is that the most useful next guess is not necessarily the word most likely to be correct. Choosing a less obvious word can sometimes reveal more information by testing letters that distinguish between many remaining possibilities.
In computer simulations, the entropy-based strategy successfully solved approximately 99% of Wordle puzzles. A more conventional approach focused primarily on frequently occurring letters achieved a success rate of about 90%.
According to Binghamton University, the research began as a student project and was later published in the Northeast Journal of Complex Systems.
