How to Play Hurdle

This version combines word guessing with the number-based feedback of a code-breaking puzzle. You get eight attempts to identify a five-letter English word. Unlike a typical Wordle board, it does not tell you which individual letters are correct during the round.

Understand the clues · See an example · Improve your strategy · Read the FAQ

1. Enter a five-letter word

Use your keyboard or the on-screen keys. Press Enter to submit a complete word, or Backspace / DEL to change a letter. The game checks guesses against its own dictionary.

2. Read both scores

The green number tells you how many letters match the answer in the same position. The amber number tells you how many other letters match but belong elsewhere. The scores describe the whole guess, not particular tiles.

3. Test a new possibility

Choose a word that fits what you have learned. Compare its two scores with earlier rows. Find all five letters in the right order before your eight attempts run out.

What Do the Green and Amber Numbers Mean?

🟩 Green = right letter, right position. A green score of 2 means exactly two letters are correctly placed. It does not identify those two letters for you.

🟧 Amber = right letter, wrong position. An amber score of 2 means two additional letters appear in the answer but need to move.

Add the scores to count matching letter occurrences. Green 2 plus amber 2 means four of your five letter occurrences match the answer. A score of 0 + 0 rules out every letter in that guess. A score of 0 + 5 means all five letters belong in the answer, but none is in the right position.

Repeated letters count only as often as they occur in the answer. One matching E does not establish that the answer contains two Es. The game reveals individual tile colors when the round finishes; during play, use the numeric feedback.

A Worked Example: Read the Scores, Find the Pattern

For this teaching example, imagine the hidden word is PLANT. This is an illustration, not today’s answer.

PLATE → 3 green, 1 amber. P, L and A are correctly placed. T belongs in the answer but sits in the wrong slot. E is absent. You can see that explanation here because we supplied the answer; the live game gives only the counts.

PANEL → 1 green, 3 amber. A stays correct in the third position. P remains correct in the first position. A, N and L are present but misplaced, while E is absent. Comparing this with PLATE gives you another arrangement to investigate.

PLANT → 5 green, 0 amber. All five letters are correctly placed, so the puzzle is solved.

Hurdle Tips: Give Every Guess a Job

Think like a detective. Before submitting a word, decide what you want its score to tell you.

Start with five different letters

A word such as SLATE, CRANE or POINT tests several letters at once. These are practical starting examples, not guaranteed winning openers. Repeated letters can be useful later, after you have evidence for them.

Separate letter discovery from position testing

If both scores are low, try a word with several new letters. If their total is high, focus on rearranging likely matches. Keep track of both the letters and their positions; the same total can hide very different answers.

Use earlier rows as a checklist

A possible answer must explain every score, not just the latest one. If a previous word scored 0 green, a candidate cannot match any letter in that row’s exact position. If it scored 0 + 0, remove its letters from your candidate list.

Treat changed scores with care

Replacing one letter may help isolate a clue, but changing several positions at once can make the result ambiguous. A higher green score tells you the arrangement improved; it does not automatically prove that a particular new letter is correct.

Leave room for doubles

Words such as LEVEL and SHEEP remind you that English answers can repeat letters. Test a double when plausible candidates require it, rather than assuming all five letters must be different.

Review the reveal

At the end of the round, compare the revealed tile colors with your assumptions. Find the first guess that could have separated your remaining candidates. That review is more useful than memorizing one successful opener.

Hurdle vs Wordle: What Makes This Version Different?

In a conventional Wordle-style puzzle, each colored letter gives a direct clue about its position. Here, the green and amber counts withhold that detail. You must infer which letters earned the points, so two candidate words can fit one row while only one fits your full history.

The name Hurdle is used for several word games. This embedded version has five-letter words, eight guesses and numeric feedback. It differs from six-letter Word Hurdle and from games built around a sequence of five puzzles. Follow the rules of the board on this page.

Hurdle Game FAQ