Knoodle

How to play Knoodle

Guess the five-letter word in six tries. Every guess is scored letter by letter, and the colors tell you how close you are. Here are the rules — then a real strategy guide for solving in fewer guesses.

The rules

Type any valid five-letter word and submit it. Each tile changes color:

CRANE

In the example above, C is correct, A is in the word but misplaced, and R, N, E are out. You have six guesses. A new puzzle arrives every day, the same word for everyone — so you can compare with friends.

Strategy: solve in fewer guesses

1. Open with a vowel-rich word

Your first guess should gather information, not try to win. Good openers pack common letters: words like CRANE, SLATE, ADIEU, or ROATE cover frequent vowels and consonants, so most guesses light up something useful.

2. Use your second guess to test new letters

Resist reusing letters you've already confirmed. If your opener found an A and an E, spend guess two on five entirely different common letters (something like PILOT or MOUND). Two guesses that share no letters cover ten of the alphabet's most useful positions before you start narrowing.

3. Respect the yellows

A yellow letter is a strong clue people waste. It's in the word, just not there — so on your next guess, place it somewhere new rather than dropping it. Re-testing the same slot for a yellow is a wasted turn.

4. Watch for double letters

When only a couple of slots remain, remember words repeat letters: ROOMY, ABBEY, KAYAK. If nothing fits with all-different letters, a double is often the answer.

5. Don't burn a guess you can't afford

Early on, guessing a word you know is wrong (to test letters) is smart. On your last one or two guesses, switch to only words that fit every clue so far — greens in place, yellows included, grays excluded.

That's the whole game: gather information first, then close. Play a few days in a row and the openers become second nature.

Truly stuck? The word lists have every valid five-letter word grouped by starting and ending letter — a quick scan beats burning a guess.

Play today's Knoodle