Throwing SHADE

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday. 

Wordle 1,006 3/6

🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩 SHONE    8 WL

⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨 PLEAD      1 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 SHADE

WordleBot

Skill 99/99

Luck 85/99

Streak 757

Today’s game is an excellent example of why I will *never* play in Hard mode.  Normally, I would think of matching three letters in their correct positions on Guess #1 as being a fantastic opportunity to solve quickly.  But when the letters are SH—E, it becomes a rather dangerous opportunity.  For me, this situation demands that discretion become the better part of valor — and playing in Hard mode would essentially eliminate Skill from the equation, turning play into a guessing game.

By holding back on my tendency toward aggressive play for Guess #2, I was able to give myself a shot at a Checkmate 3 — although ending up with a 5 was not out of the question.  I used PLEAD for Guess #2 (The Bot preferred ARMED — but said PLEAD was one of its “top picks”) and luck was with me.  I now knew A & D were included in the solution — and only one word remained.  I played SHADE and watched happily as all the letters turned green.  I beat The Bot (3 vs 4) and the (current) NYT avg (by more than a full guess, 3 vs 4.2). 

Take care and stay safe.

The Dreaded *INGO Trap

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday.

Wordle 1,005 4/6

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ SHONE    67 WL

🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜ GATOR      6 WL

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 BINGO       2 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 LINGO

WordleBot

Skill 99/99

Luck 42/99

Streak 756

I really wanted to shout out “BINGO!” this morning — but it was not to be.  Guess #1 revealed O & N (both out of position) and I went with The Bot’s favorite word in that scenario (GATOR) for Guess #2.  That showed me a third letter (G, out of position) but I still didn’t know where anything was placed.  The first word that came to mind that would place N, G & O in positions they hadn’t yet been tried was BINGO.  I had high hopes — but when the first letter didn’t change color, I knew the game was still afoot.  And I was faced with the DINGO / LINGO coin flip.  Surprisingly, I did win that flip (I suspect my win percentage on coin flips for Guess #4 is better than for Guess #3 — although I have no evidence) and LINGO turned all the letters green.  I lost to The Bot but bested the (current) NYT avg (4 vs 4.2). 

In non-Wordle news, after nearly a year of spending extensive amounts of time and cash at my dentist's office, my new front tooth (read: dental implant) is in place and looking fantastic.  It was a long road —but worth the effort, I think.  Kudos to all the folks at Jamestowne South Dental in Southfield, MI and especially my dentist, Dr. Peter Cracchiolo Jr.

Take care and stay safe.

"The Dude ABIDEs..."

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday.

Wordle 1,004 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 SHONE   193 WL

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ TRAIL          3 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ABIDE

WordleBot

Skill 85/99

Luck 61/99

Streak 755

The Coen Brothers served me well this morning.  Guess #1 revealed only E as the last letter and Guess #2 provided A & I (both out of position).  My first thought was to try moving those two letters to positions 2 & 3 — but the first words that came to mind either couldn’t be the solution based on eliminated letters (like RAISE) or were previously used (MAIZE).  Then I began to look at words starting with A — and ABIDE immediately leapt out at me.  I quickly played it as Guess #3 and watched all the letters turn green.  I didn’t know until later that it had been a coin flip between ABIDE and WAIVE.  I tied The Bot and bested the (current) NYT avg (3 vs 3.7).  My current Under Par streak is now 5 days.

I’ve still not received any feedback from the WordleBot Police regarding the theft of my correct data for Game #999 on March 14.  I solved in 2 guesses - but WordleBot now shows my score as 3.  It appears I will need to reach out via other means to The Powers That Be. 

Take care and stay safe.

How is that SPELT?

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday.

Wordle 1003 3/6

🟩⬜⬜⬜🟨 SHONE   59 WL

🟨🟨🟩⬜🟩 PLEAT       1 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 SPELT

WordleBot

Skill 99/99

Luck 74/99

Streak 754

Turned up lots of letters on my first two guesses which led to a quick Checkmate Three today, on a word that seems to have upset some folks.  I was lucky that there was no room for speculation on Guess #3 since:  I knew all five letters from my first two guesses, knew the positions of Letters 1, 3 & 5, knew P & L had to fill in Letters 2 & 4 AND — knew L *wasn’t* Letter 2.  Since SPELT *had* to be the solution based on my results from the first two guesses, I typed it in and watched all the letters turn green.  I tied The Bot and bested the (current) NYT avg (3 vs 3.8).  Not a bad way to start the work week. 

Take care and stay safe.

Care for a SNORT?

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday.

Wordle 1002 2/6

🟩⬜🟩🟨⬜ SHONE   9 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 SNORT

WordleBot

Skill 76/99

Luck 93/99

Streak 753

Well, let’s hope The Bot doesn’t try to cheat me out of a second Deuce in the last 4 days.  Guess #1 provided beaucoup letters today —  S & O (as Letters 1 & 3, respectively) plus N (out of position).  I didn’t know it at the time — but only 9 solutions remained.  I decided to go with a word starting SNO— for Guess #2.  Between SNORT & SNOWY, I decided to try SNORT since R & T are such frequently occurring letters.  Luck was with me and I watched all the letters turn green for a Deuce.  I defeated both The Bot (2 vs 3) and the (current) NYT avg (2 vs 3.8). 

I’ve not received any feedback from the WordleBot Police regarding the theft of my correct data for Game #999 on March 14.  I solved in 2 guesses - but WordleBot now shows my score as 3.  Other than that, my weekend was fantastic. 

Take care and stay safe.

The TOXIN Avenger?

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday.

Wordle 1001 3/6

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ SHONE   67 WL

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ GATOR      5 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 TOXIN

WordleBot

Skill 99/99

Luck 58/99

Streak 752

Good to get back Under Par this morning since today’s game featured an unusual word.  Guess #1 showed me the O & N (both out of position) and almost 70 solutions remained.  Guess #2 gave me T (out of position) — but I still didn’t have O in the right place.  Luckily for me, uncontrollable record-keeping swung into action.  My play during Game #760 (TONIC on 7/18/2023) revealed that 3 of the 5 remaining solutions had been previously used — so it was down to JUNTO & TOXIN.  While neither of these words held great appeal for me, one was far more familiar.  I played TOXIN for Guess #3 and watched all the letters turn green.  I tied The Bot with my 3 and bested the (current) NYT avg (3 vs 3.9). 

Has anyone else noticed the phenomenon of selecting to see WordleBot after playing — and still seeing the choice to play that day’s Game?  Choosing to “Compare and recent scores” allows me to confirm WordleBot knows I’ve played — but this behavior seems related to changes initiated for Wordle 1000.

Another side Note:  WordleBot seems to have lost the correct info for my Game #999 on March 14.  I solved in 2 guesses - but WordleBot now shows my score as 3.  Anyone else notice problems with their data for that game displaying incorrectly?  I sent an inquiry to the WB team but haven’t heard back yet. 

Hope you're having a fine weekend. 

Take care and stay safe.

Wordle 1000: Words ERUPT

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday.

Wordle 1000 4/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 SHONE  496 WL

🟨🟩⬜⬜⬜ TRAIL          4 WL

🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩 ERECT         1 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ERUPT 

WordleBot

Skill 99/99

Luck 44/99

Streak 751

I was due for an ordinary result after my deuce yesterday — and it just happened to fall on 1K Day.

Guess #1 showed me only the E (out of position, almost 500 solutions remaining) but Guess #2 was more helpful, providing T (out of position) and R (in position as Letter 2).  My hunch was that today’s solution either started with ER— or ended with —ET.  None of the —ET words struck my FANCY (not yet used a solution), so my favorites were ERECT & ERUPT.  Feeling that erection should come before eruption, I played ERECT for Guess #3 — and (not surprisingly) lost that coin flip.  But ERECT turned all the letters green.  I tied The Bot with my four — but was bested by the (current) NYT avg (3.7 vs 4).  Hope you're having a fantastic day.  

Take care and stay safe.

Ever SINCE I got back from vacation...

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday.

Wordle 999 2/6

🟩⬜⬜🟨🟩   7 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

WordleBot

Skill 87/99

Luck 93/99

Streak 750

And to think — I almost wimped out and went for the guaranteed 3!

Guess #1 shared the bounty of S & E (in position, as the first and last letters) and N (out of position, destined for either Letter 2 or 3).   Based on my (nearly infallible) record-keeping from Game #983 (SENSE on 2/27/2024), I knew that only 7 solutions remained — and 3 of those were previously used.  Instead of playing CRISP (for a "sure thing" 3), I threw caution to the winds and played SINCE.  It was a happy sight to watch all the letters turn green.  I’ve been Under Par 9 out of the last 10 days, beat The Bot again (2 vs 3), and bested the (current) NYT avg (2 vs. 3.7).  It's the BIG 1K tomorrow.

Take care and stay safe.

LOCAL Hero

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday.

Wordle 998 3/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜    193 WL

⬜🟩🟨🟩⬜        5 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

WordleBot

Skill 99/99

Luck 60/99

Streak 749

My strong play continues since returning from vacation toward the end of last month — and the weather has been unusually warm (for the most part) as well.  Let the good times roll, I say.

Guess #1 provided only the O (out of position) and nearly 200 remaining solutions.  But Guess #2 showed me that O was Letter 2 - and gave me two more letters, L (out of position) and A (in position, as Letter 4).  My thorough Wordle record-keeping served me in good stead, as my play from Game #829 (LOYAL on 9/26/2023) showed that only 5 solutions remained — and 2 of those were previously used.  I had even included a note to try LOCAL as Guess #3.  Viewing myself as a credible source of information, I played LOCAL and watched all the letters turn green.  I’ve been Under Par 8 out of the last 9 days, beat The Bot (3 vs 4), and bested the (current) NYT avg (3 vs. 4.0).  Hope you're having a wonderful day. 

And you need to watch a great movie, check out "Local Hero."

Take care and stay safe.

(Humble) Bragging

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday.

Wordle 993 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨   496 WL

⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨   10 (6) WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

WordleBot

Skill 81/99

Luck 53/99

Streak 744

Since returning home from Hawaii during the last week of February, my posting of feedback in the Wordle forum has been poor.  I don’t know whether to attribute this lapse to being busier at work, attempting to get my sleep schedule back on-track (maybe DST will help beginning this weekend), a push to finish my annual goal of viewing all the Best Picture nominees prior to the Oscars (also this weekend — and only “Poor Things” remains.  Tickets purchased for tomorrow) — or maybe I’m just lazy.  I even neglected to humble-brag about reaching my milestone of two years without losing a game (Notice how I’ve cleverly worked the bragging in right here anyway.  It happened on Feb. 24 — Game #980, PIPER — a day that will live in infamy, I suspect, based on the NYT avg of 5.2 in that game)!  But enough stalling — let’s talk about today.

Guess #1 provided only the E (out of position) and almost 500 remaining solutions.  But Guess #2 gave me three more letters, R, A & L (all also out of position).  My meticulous Wordle record-keeping (some might use the term “anal”) served me in good stead, however.  My play from Game #816 (CLEAR on 9/13/2023) showed that only 6 solutions remained — and even included a note to try EARLY as Guess #3.  Eager to follow my own previous advice, I played it and watched all the letters turn green.  I was Under Par for a fourth straight day, tied The Bot, and bested the (current) NYT avg (3 vs. 3.6). 

Hope you're having a great day.

Take care and stay safe.