Antiwordle

What is Antiwordle?

Antiwordle is the "opposite" of Wordle. Your goal is NOT to win. Your goal is to lose—that is, to make as many guesses as possible without finding the secret word.

The game is a battle against the rules, which are specifically designed to force you to win.

The Rules of Antiwordle (The "Trap")

This is the most important part. You are forced to use the information you find.

1. 🟩 The Green Letter Rule (Must Use): If you get a green letter (correct letter in the correct position), you MUST use that letter in that exact position for all future guesses.

2. 🟨 The Yellow Letter Rule (Must Use): If you get a yellow letter (correct letter in the wrong position), you MUST include that letter somewhere in your next guess.

3. ⬛ The Gray Letter Rule (Forbidden): If a letter turns gray (it's not in the word), you are NOT ALLOWED to use that letter in any future guesses.

Your goal is to make these rules as hard to follow as possible, but the game will turn red and stop you if you try to break them.

How To Play Antiwordle

Let's see how the rules force you into a corner. (🟩 = Green, S- = Yellow, ⬛ = Gray)

Let's assume the secret word is PLANT...

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Step 1: The "Losing" Opening

Your goal is to use letters that are not in the word. A common "anti-strategy" is to guess words with uncommon letters, like FUZZY or GYPSY.

Player Guesses (1): GYPSY (The player hopes all letters are gray)

• Feedback: G Y P S Y ⬛ ⬛ 🟨 ⬛ ⬛

• Player's "Oh No" Moment: Disaster! The P is in the word.

• New Rules:

  1. You must use P somewhere in your next guess.
  2. You cannot use G, Y, or S ever again.

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Step 2: Trying to Dodge

The player must now use a P. They will try to guess another word that uses P but avoids all other letters in PLANT.

Player Guesses (2): CHOMP (This guess follows the rules: It uses P. It does not use G, Y, or S.)

• Feedback: C H O M P ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ 🟩

• Player's "Oh No" Moment: A total catastrophe! The P is not only in the word, it's in the correct position.

• New Rules:

  1. Your next guess MUST be _ _ _ _ P.
  2. You cannot use G, Y, S, C, H, O, M.

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Step 3: The Walls Close In

The player is now severely restricted. They must guess a 5-letter word ending in P, using only the remaining letters of the alphabet. They try to find a word that isn't PLANT (which they don't know is the answer).

Player Guesses (3): ARIEL (Wait, the player breaks the rule! The game will reject this. They MUST guess a word ending in P.)

Player Guesses (3) (Corrected): FLUMP (This guess follows the rules: It ends in P. It does not use any gray letters.)

• Feedback: F L U M P ⬛ 🟨 ⬛ ⬛ 🟩

• Player's "Oh No" Moment: This is getting worse! L is in the word, but in the wrong spot.

• New Rules:

  1. Your next guess MUST be _ _ _ _ P.
  2. It MUST contain an L (but not in the 2nd position).
  3. You cannot use G, Y, S, C, H, O, M, F, U.

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Step 4: The Inevitable "Win" (Loss)

The player is now completely cornered.

• They need a word: _ _ _ _ P
• It must have an L.
• It cannot have F, U, M, C, H, O, G, Y, S.
• What's left? PLANT? No, that doesn't end in P. (My example word PLANT was bad! Let's pivot the example word to CREEP).

Let's do a fast, better example. Secret Word: WACKY

1. Guess 1: PIANO -> 🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛ (A is yellow)
2. Rule: Must use A.
3. Guess 2: SALET -> ⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛ (A is green!)
4. Rule: Must be _ A _ _ _.
5. Guess 3: MARCH -> ⬛🟩⬛⬛🟨 (A is green, C is yellow)
6. Rule: Must be _ A _ _ _ and contain a C.
7. Guess 4: CANDY -> 🟩🟩⬛⬛🟩 (C is green, A is green, Y is green)
8. Rule: Must be C A _ _ Y.
9. Guess 5: CABBY -> 🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩 (B is gray)
10. Rule: Must be C A _ _ Y, cannot use B.
11. Player is forced to guess WACKY or MACKY... they try WACKY.
12. Guess 6: WACKY -> 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
13. Result: You "lost" (by winning) in 6 moves. A good Antiwordle player can last 10+ moves.

Winning Strategy (How to "Lose" Well)

1. Start with Uncommon Letters: Your first guess should be something like FUZZY, GYPSY, XEROX, or QUACK to try and get 5 gray letters.
2. Spread Your Letters: If you are forced to use a yellow letter (e.g., A), put it in a new spot, but surround it with new letters you haven't used, rather than letters you know are gray (which is illegal).
3. Avoid Vowels: Vowels are in almost every word. Avoid them for as long as you can.
4. The "Gray Letter" Rule is Your Enemy: The most powerful rule forcing you to win is that your alphabet shrinks. You will eventually be forced to use the correct letters because you have no other legal moves.

Where to Play Antiwordle

You can play the official version here:

• https://www.antiwordle.com