In which edition will Wordle re-use a word for the first time?
Mini
6
Ṁ1555
2030
1.2%
<1000
10%
1000-1249
12%
1250-1499
16%
1500-1749
16%
1750-1999
24%
2000-2249
18%
2250-2499
1.3%
2500-2749
1.4%
2750-2999
1.2%
>3000

I don't play this game but some other people do. Apparently it is annoying that participants need to remember all 800 previously-used words because words are not repeated (yet).

If you think Wordle will begin re-using words, choose which bucket seems most likely!

If there are hints or indications that one single bucket is highly likely, we can make a more narrow question later with smaller buckets.

Resolves to a bucket when Wordle re-uses a word. Someone will probably need to post the news because I do not subscribe the The Wordle Times.

If Wordle ceases publication before re-using a word, resolves N/A.

If Wordle splits into multiple competing versions, we will talk about which one is the canonical one in the comment section.

If Wordle reaches 3000 before re-using a word, resolves immediately to the >3000 bucket, even if they end up ceasing publication before re-using a word later.

Get Ṁ1,000 play money
Sort by:

@phenomist Got any inside info or just think they will push it to the bitter end?

bought Ṁ10 2000-2249 YES

@Eliza No inside info, just don't think they will substantially change how word generation works, possibly reducing the wordlist at most. (Discontinuing = N/A is also a possibility)

bought Ṁ250 <1000 NO

@phenomist Thanks for weighing in!

Based on that evidence, I feel like the re-use will have to come sooner rather than later. The game is going to be significantly easier in 1 more year from now, right? There will be a point where dedicated players are getting 2s regularly and rarely 4s?

A very dedicated World player shared this image with me of his Wordle rolling average score over the course of 2023.

He shared a few actually.

It looks clear to me that the shrinking word pool is having a significant impact on player scores based on this data.

Notice how the raw scores have barely had any 5s in the last long while.

2023:

All time:

Raw scores:

@Eliza It's still not quite clear from an editorial standpoint if they are okay with this, or if it is undesirable, or if it is even desirable, since players will assume they are getting better?

I'm curious to see where this ends up in ~3 months.

I looked up the Wordle page and it seems they are currently on #930.

There are 2309 words in the bank of possible answers. That number has only ever gone down (NYT removed a few they considered offensive). Something weird would have to happen to resolve in the bins above that. How will this resolve if Wordle goes to 6 letters and thus reaches 3000 without re-using?

@kenakofer If the same number keeps counting up I don't care what the format does. If they split it into two versions we can talk then.

kenakoferboughtṀ21250-1499 YES

@kenakofer Sorry there is not much liquidity yet on this. Maybe if we can get a few more traders you would be able to bet more than 2 mana.

Do you know if this has been a topic of discussion online anywhere yet?

@Eliza I asked two faithful but casual Wordlers (I'm not one) and neither of them were aware that words were never re-used. On reddit, a lot of people talk about referencing the list of past answers, and no one seems upset. Curious who the annoyed participants are?

@kenakofer I don't understand how I could even attempt to play it without having memorized the entire list.