DeWordle: Help

What is DeWordle?

DeWordle is a tool for reverse-engineering Wordle game diagrams. (Among other uses, discussed later.)

While it's considered poor manners to post the current day's Wordle answer on social media, it's considered fun to post your colored-block diagram, like so:

While it seems like the answer has not been revealed, if you copy & paste either diagram into DeWordle, it will tell you that you have already narrowed the field of answers from 2,315 to 1,641 (left) or 237 (right).

But DeWordle can narrow the answer list even farther. Copy and paste both of those diagrams into the same DeWordle game, and it will tell you there are only 189 possible answers! Keep adding more diagrams for the same day, and you may even get down to only one possible word!

How does DeWordle work?

The secret to DeWordle is that not every color-block pattern is possible in every game. For example, it's not possible to get 🟨🟦⬜️⬛️🟨🟦⬜️⬛️🟩🟧 if the answer is ALIEN - there is no word you are allowed to guess that has that pattern, if ALIEN is that day's word.

But there are 1933 other answers where 🟨🟦⬜️⬛️🟨🟦⬜️⬛️🟩🟧 might come up in the game. For example, if the day's word were ACTOR, then guessing CHAIR would give you a 🟨🟦⬜️⬛️🟨🟦⬜️⬛️🟩🟧 result.

There is just enough variation in what guess patterns are possible for each answer, that by filtering the possible answer list down to only those that might generate every pattern entered into the board, DeWordle can figure out which one must have been the answer.

This is why adding the left pattern to the right pattern in the section above, reduced the possible answers more than either pattern alone. Some of the words in the right hand pattern's 237 answers were not words in the left hand pattern's 1,641. But the answer for the day had to be in both!

If you want to know even more, these three blog posts cover the development of DeWordle:

1. DeWordle
2. DeWordle Debugging
3. DeWordle: The Game (or Tool?)

What else can you do with DeWordle?

Play DeWordle as a game! Make up patterns, tap them in using the dotted squares, and see how few rows you need to get to just one word left. But beware, it's also possible to enter a set of patterns that don't match any answers. Or, go the other direction, and see how many of the 242 possible patterns you can add without reaching a single answer.

Share your Wordle process! Paste your Wordle diagram in, and then click the pencil icon below each line to enter the word you used on that line. Click the share button below the board to copy a diagram and link to your clipboard.

Figure out what your friend's guesses were! Paste their Wordle diagram in, then click the pencil below the answer row and type in the day's word. DeWordle will tell you all of the words they might have used in each row. If DeWordle won't let you enter the day's word, your friend's diagram is fake!

Make up fake, but valid, Wordle diagrams! Enter the day's Wordle word by clicking the pencil below the answer row. Then enter the diagram rows you want by tapping the dotted squares to change their color, and then tapping the "+" to add that row to the board. As long as DeWordle doesn't say "Matches 0 answers" below the answer row, your diagram is valid!

I found a bug! I have a feature idea! Where can I send it?

All of DeWordle's code is hosted on Github at beerriot/dewordle. If you're a Github user, please file an issue or send a pull request there.

You can also reach the developer of DeWordle on Twitter (@hobbyist) or via email (bryan+dewordle@beerriot.com).