My strategy is built to ensure I solve 95% of the puzzles in 4 guesses or less. It is not built to always shoot for the lowest score possible. The score depends a lot on the seed word. Wordle is a game of luck and skill.

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Target Word: TEPID
Typical Wordle Word Construct: 2 Vowels and one compound/paired consonant (2 letters or 3 letters; seen with >50% frequency)
Today’s Wordle Word Construct: A-Typical; 2 Vowels (E, I), no  compound consonants
# Of Guesses:  3.4 WordleBot average per Marc McLaren*; 4 for WordleGuru

Seed Word: SOLAR; I looked at the last 5-7 Wordle words to decide among the 8 most frequent consonants and 5 vowels (A and E are the two highest frequency vowels; R, T, L, S, N, C, H and G are the 8 highest frequency consonants.)
Seed Word Revelations: None ☹  Not a complete loss since the absence of a letter does convey information.
# Of Possible Solutions after the seed word: N/M.

Second Word: ETHIC; After some deliberation, I picked ETHIC with 2 vowels (I and E) and 3 of the 8 most frequent consonants.  It did its job as the elimination word. It reduced the possibilities to just five words – BEFIT, DEBIT, FETID, TEPID, and UNTIE.

Third Word: BEFIT; My gut feel was saying that the answer is UNTIE.  But I chose to try one more elimination word.  Had I gone ahead with my gut feel I might not have solved the puzzle in 4 guesses. I prefer to use one of the possible words as an elimination word.  BEFIT fit the bill.  It led to the target word – TEPID.

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EnotE (Eliminate-not-Enumerate) Strategy deployment: Deployed right after the first word.  Worked effectively, though required 2 rounds.

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Final thoughts: Wordle is a game of luck and skill. After a string of 3’s I was due for a 4 (regression to the mean)

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My other work you may find interesting
I write Rhyming Prose (Prose that rhymes). My work in this area can be found on my website, Rhyming Prose — … when a poem won’t do it!

I have also started writing free-verse poems, haikus and songs. My work in this area can be found on my website, Budding Poets Corner – Poet Laureates of Tomorrow

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© 2022 Ashok Gupta All rights reserved.
Wordle and WordleBot are trademarks owned by the New York Times.

*The WordleBot score I refer to comes from Tom’s Guide by Marc McLaren.  Marc writes his post at around 7 AM U.K. time.
https:  //www.tomsguide.com/news/what-is-todays-wordle-answer#section-previous-wordle-answers

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