Today's Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for June 29, #1106
Scroll on down for today's Wordle answer. James Martin/CNET
Today's Wordle answer might be a tough one, so if you're stumped, you've come to the right place. Every day, we post hints and then the answer for the current day's Wordle, just in case you need it.
Also, we've ranked all the letters in the alphabet by popularity if you want to use this list to decide on your best start words.
And do you also play NYT Connections? We've got today's Connections answers and hints too. Plus, we've got today's answer and some general tips for Strands, a new game from the Times that's just moved out of beta. That means it's now in the NYT Games app, which might make Strands more accessible to people.
Today's Wordle hints
Warning: If you keep reading, you'll see the Wordle answer, though we'll give you some hints, first. If you don't want a spoiler, look away now.
Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats
Today's Wordle answer has no repeated letters.
Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels
There are two vowels in today's Wordle answer.
Wordle hint No. 3: Tricky letter
Today's Wordle answer starts with a very rarely used letter. (Check the ranking of all letters here.)
Wordle hint No. 4: Start letter
Today's Wordle answer begins with the letter Z. Yes, Z.
Wordle hint No. 4: Sing it
Today's Wordle answer describes an animal that Captain Kangaroo dubbed a "horse in striped pajamas."
TODAY'S WORDLE ANSWER
Here comes the spoiler: Today's Wordle answer is ZEBRA. Z is the third-least used letter in the English language.
Yesterday's Wordle answer
Yesterday's Wordle answer, June 28, No. 1105, was DROVE.
Past Wordle answers
June 24, No. 1101: DOLLY
June 25, No. 1102: SAVOR
June 26, No. 1103: KNEAD
June 27, No. 1104: ORDER
Everyday Wordle tips
I've written a lot about Wordle -- from covering its 1,000th word to my list of the best starter words to a helpful two-step strategy to news about controversial word changes. I've even rounded up what I learned playing the hit online word puzzle for a full year. So if you're rethinking your need for the actual answer, you might try tips from one of those stories.
Still need a starter word? One person told me they just look around and choose a five-letter object that they've spotted to use as their starter word -- such as COUCH or CHAIR. I tend to stick to starter words that have the most popular letters used in English words. I like TRAIN as a starter, though I have a friend who uses TRAIL. I've read that people use the financial term ROATE, but I like to use words I actually know.
What is Wordle?
If you read this far, you know how to play. You have six chances to guess a five-letter word, and the game gives you feedback as to whether the letters you've guessed are in the puzzle or not, and if they're in the same spot where you guessed they are. The New York Times bought the game from creator Josh Wardle for seven figures in 2022. Wardle famously created the game for his partner, and let her narrow down the 12,000 five-letter words in the English language to just 2,500, creating the database of answers. It was convenient, too, that he has a name that plays off "word."
A Times spokesperson told me it lists the very first Wordle as appearing on June 19, 2021, and the paper celebrated the game's 1,000th word on March 15. Spoiler: That 1,000th word was ERUPT. As in, "Dad will erupt if the Wordle is so tough he loses his streak."
There are other fun games in the Times Games stable. My latest addiction is Connections, which I think is trickier than Wordle. This is the game where you look at a grid of 16 words and try to put them into four groups of related words. Sometimes the relationships between the words are pretty out there -- like the time when it was four words that all began with rock bands, such as "Rushmore" and "journeyman." (Connections got a little sassy on April Fools' Day with an all-emoji puzzle. Some gamers did NOT find that funny.)