Does your friend always claim to be a master at Wordle, the daily New York Times word puzzle game that has kept many people around the globe fixated since its debut in 2022? Do you agree with their claim? If you have doubts, your instincts might be right. Your friend could be cheating to achieve their impressive scores. A study by James Dilger revealed that up to 10,000 Wordle players are cheating their way to a perfect score.
But how can you tell if your friend is part of Dilger’s findings? While there’s no foolproof way, there are a few signs you can look for to help determine if your friend is using less-than-honest tactics to achieve impressive results in the game.
What’s Considered Cheating at Wordle?
Before we explain how to tell if your friend is cheating at Wordle, let’s first define what cheating in Wordle entails. Understanding this will help you identify the behaviors that may indicate someone is not playing fairly. Here are some common practices that are considered cheating in Wordle:
- Checking Wordle spoiler websites and forums to find the word of the day before playing, allowing them to guess the answer in just a few attempts.
- Using Wordle solver tools to quickly figure out the answer.
- Playing the game on multiple devices or browsers to practice and achieve a better score, then sharing the best result.
- Peeking at someone else’s screen while they’re solving the puzzle or getting help from someone else and claiming credit for the solution.
Here is How to Tell If Someone Is Cheating At Wordle
1. High Number of 1/6, 2/6 & 3/6 Wins
One way to tell if someone is cheating at Wordle is to look at the number of attempts they take to find the word of the day. If they consistently get a high number of 1/6, 2/6, and 3/6 wins without ever having 5/6, 6/6 wins, or failures, it’s a clear sign they might be cheating!
We know that people have unique strategies for playing Wordle, but no strategy is foolproof. Even a strategy optimized to win in two or three guesses will still result in a significant number of 5/6 and 6/6 wins, and occasional failures. To ensure zero failures with such strategies, one must adopt more cautious approaches and accept a considerable number of 4/6 and 5/6 wins.
See, the best guess is not necessarily a solution. Wordle allows over 13,000 guess words, but only 2,309 are used as solutions. Additionally, the guess word that reveals the most letters about the Wordle word of the day is often not the solution itself. In other words, if you guess such a word, you won’t win on that try.
The simple verdict is: you cannot be a genius and consistently achieve 2/6 or 3/6 wins 95% of the time!
So, a high number of 1/6, 2/6, and 3/6 wins simply indicates that the person already knows the answer (probably by employing the above-mentioned cheating tactics) before playing the game.
2. Lack of Strategy in Their Moves
Another way to identify if someone is cheating at Wordle is to observe their strategy. A genuine Wordle player doesn’t just guess randomly; they employ strategies to arrive at the solution.
For instance, one effective method experienced players use to avoid dead ends in Wordle is using elimination words.
For instance, if you’ve identified four correct letters as –OUND, the possible solutions might be BOUND, FOUND, ROUND, or WOUND. While guessing any of these could lead to victory, there’s still a chance that your next guess could be incorrect. This could result in failing the game if subsequent guesses also miss the mark.
To optimize your chances, you can use elimination words like BOWER or FROWN. These words help identify or eliminate possibilities and guide you to the correct answer in your next guess.
Additionally, most Wordle players use specific starting words to maximize their chances. For example, ADIEU is a popular choice because it contains several vowels, which helps players identify or eliminate vowels in their first guesses. See other popular starting words here.
A player who uses these strategic starting words and demonstrates a clear guessing strategy is likely playing honestly.
The short of it is: a genuine Wordle player will consistently use strategic guesses, even if they’re not specifically using starting or elimination words. If a player’s guesses lack any discernible strategy, it may indicate cheating.
So, if you notice that your friend’s guesses lack any strategic approach, it may indicate that they are cheating.
Is It Cheating To Look Up Words For Wordle?
In our view, seeking help while solving a puzzle should never be a source of shame. Puzzles are designed to be solved, and it’s perfectly natural to seek assistance when needed.
If you dread getting stuck on the Wordle game of the day, there’s no harm in checking out some hints to guide you. You don’t need to see the answer outright; even minimal hints can help you solve the puzzle on your own.
Our Wordle help posts, for example, provide hints before revealing the answer, encouraging players to solve the puzzle using the clues provided. We also offer the option to skip sections to avoid accidental spoilers. Adhering to this approach seems fair to me.