How to solve five-letter word puzzles
Learn how to choose opening guesses, read repeated-letter clues, and turn each guess into useful information in a daily five-letter word game.
Start with information
Choose a familiar word with several different common letters. CRANE, SLATE, and TRACE are reasonable examples, not guaranteed best moves. A starting word is useful when its result helps you narrow the next guess. Do not look for one magic opener that wins every puzzle.
Read each color precisely
Green fixes a letter in that position. Gold means an unmatched copy belongs elsewhere. Gray means no unmatched copy remains for that tile. A gray tile does not always mean the letter is missing from the answer: repeated letters must be counted individually.
A repeated-letter example
Suppose the answer is APPLE and you guess ALLEY. A is green. The first L is gold, but the second L is gray because APPLE contains only one L. E is gold and Y is gray. The keyboard should keep L gold, since you have evidence that one L belongs in the answer. This is a teaching example, not today’s solution.
Make the next guess answer a question
Keep a short list of words that fit all the clues. If several candidates share the same ending, use a guess that distinguishes their remaining letters. Early in the game, testing several new letters can help. With one guess left, choose a candidate that could actually solve the puzzle.
Avoid wasting a turn
Before submitting, check that your word has five letters and is accepted. In Borough, invalid and repeated guesses do not consume a turn. You have six accepted guesses, and the daily edition changes at midnight in New York. Keep notes about letter positions rather than simply retrying familiar words.