Time got away from me last night, and I didn't take a screen shot so I can't go guess-by-guess like usual. I do know that I got JAZZY on my sixth and final guess. I remember that I didn't get any correct letters on my first two guesses. I don't remember when I got it to -A--Y (it was probably the fourth guess) but I remember one of my guesses was BAGGY. I was a little worried as the game went on, but by the time I got to my last guess, I wasn't too worried because the only word available to me at that point based on previous guesses was JAZZY. So I got a solve in six. Hey, sometimes that happens. Better to get get it late than not get it at all.
Which brings me to my rant. I read the NYT Wordle solver review thing and Thursday's solver, Miya Lee, did not get the answer. No shame in not getting it, it was a tough puzzle. Also, props to Lee for even writing the column because she's dyslexic and stated that she doesn't usually play word games because of it. Everybody's brain works differently and we should celebrate that fact.
Now, you might be saying to yourself, "I thought he said there was a rant coming? This doesn't feel like a rant, WTF?" Here it comes: Lee's second guess was ADIEU. She guessed ADIEU after guessing OVULE and getting all grays; this was an objectively bad guess by a rookie who only used ADIEU because her aunt told her to. But I'm not here to destroy Lee. I'm here to destroy ADEIU. ADIEU is just a terrible guess. And yet, every day it's the opening salvo for many players. WHY?!? It's a stupid word.
It makes no sense to guess ADIEU. I get the temptation to hunt for vowels to help give order to your subsequent guesses. I do. I used to hunt for vowels. But I would only look for two vowels at a time. (Look at me, justifying my own stupidity) I get the idea that you can find the answer after getting a vowel around which you can build a word. There is an aspect of it that makes sense. But it really doesn't make sense to guess a nonsense word like ADIEU. You're not gaining much by knowing there's an E in the word, but it's in the wrong spot. Many words have an E! Do something constructive with your guesses.
You should be trying to gather as much information as possible in your guesses. Getting something correct in the first guess makes it feel like you're making progress and that you can then hone in on the correct answer. But regardless of what your guess is, you are going to gain information. Even your wrong letters help push you to the correct ones. And look, there are more consonants than vowels, so get some of those out of the way. You're going to have to use vowels in your guesses anyways. You know the vowels are going to be there at some point, so play the game smarter. You don't have to run the ball on first and second down hoping to get yourself into 3rd and manageable.
Also, don't be a slave to the boring routine of using ADIEU. This is a game about words as much as it is about strategy. Have fun with your words. Pick new stuff every day. Try new things. Zig when others zag. Don't follow the wisdom of the crowd. Go with words that make you smile, words that strike your fancy. Just because we are trying to be smarter about our guesses doesn't mean we have to be boring. Don't be boring.
ADIEU is a stupid, stupid word. Maybe the NYT should just make the answer ADIEU so all these people will start using different words. Free us from the tyranny of ADIEU as an opening guess.
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