NYT Wordle is among the most-played word games, and that’s largely due to its simple mechanics and low time investment. Wordle is generally easier to solve daily than other word puzzles, and that makes it more appealing to the masses. However, those seeking a greater challenge can use Wordle hard mode to test their skills. Wondering what Wordle hard mode is? We’ve discussed this feature, along with its rules, steps to enable hard mode, and whether it’s easier than the normal mode.
What is Wordle Hard Mode?
Hard mode in Wordle forces players to use yellow and green letters revealed in previous guesses in subsequent attempts. This means you are required to enter words that include the already revealed letters. If you do not wish to limit yourself or the guesses, check out today’s Wordle hints for some help from our end.
How Does Wordle Hard Mode Work?
Instead of changing the Wordle answer to a harder word, enabling hard mode slightly modifies the rules for solving the puzzle. Wordle hard mode adds a little bit of flavor to the puzzle, which is otherwise straightforward to solve daily. That said, here are the rules of Wordle hard mode that you need to remember:
Use Already Found Letters
With hard mode turned on, players are forced to use letters already revealed in earlier guesses. That means any yellow or green letters revealed in the first guess must be used in the second guess.
Cannot Eliminate Random Letters
If you know how to play Wordle, you must be aware that you guess a secret five-letter word correctly to keep your streak going. A popular, well-known trick to solve Wordle quickly is to submit random words to eliminate letters. Wordle hard mode prevents you from using this effective strategy to find the secret word easily.
This means you cannot use random words, ones without yellow or green letters, to eliminate letters and narrow down the answer possibilities.
Still, with either hard mode or normal mode, you will still need to pick the best starting words for Wordle to get an upper hand in the puzzle.
How to Enable Wordle Hard Mode
The hard mode option for Wordle is hidden under the settings. Here is how you can enable hard mode in Wordle:
- Open the NYT Wordle website.
- Click the Settings (cog) icon on the top right corner, next to the question mark icon.
- In the settings menu, enable the ‘Hard Mode’ toggle.
You can only enable hard mode at the start of the game. Once you make the first guess, you cannot turn on the Hard Mode toggle anymore. However, you can choose to turn off hard mode mid-game, while solving the puzzle, if you find today’s puzzle too challenging and need to go back to the basics.
How is Wordle Hard Mode Different from Normal Mode?
Now, you must be wondering about the importance of hard mode in Wordle. The normal puzzle is among the best for training your vocabulary and logical deduction skills. However, veteran players use past Wordle answers as a word exclusion method to solve the puzzle, but it’s basically a cheat code. It doesn’t train either of those skills.
A player actively looking to exercise their brain daily with games like Wordle, instead of focusing on maintaining their winning streak, would try to avoid such tactics.
But even then, they can use these tactics subconsciously, which erodes all the challenge of the game. So, by turning on hard mode, you force yourself to grow your vocabulary and word deduction skills based on the revealed hints.
Does Hard Mode Actually Make Wordle Harder?
Yes, Wordle hard mode does actually make the game harder, but only slightly, and only for the first few days. I knew about the existence of this mode for the longest time but only recently turned it on to prepare for this article. I didn’t want to make the game harder or give it more time each day than necessary.
As I started playing Wordle in hard mode, I realized that I had developed some poor habits. Letter elimination had become my go-to technique to find letters and waste guesses. I found myself stuck on easy words like BEGUN and ENVOY after switching modes. However, it also made certain word guesses easy.
Wordle hard mode made me realize I used words with repeated letters like BLISS or CALLS often. I didn’t use revealed letters (and instead used random words and letters) just to eliminate them from the on-screen keyboard. All to get the answer quickly and be done with it.
Well, hard mode helped me eliminate the workarounds I had been using to find answers. It’s easier to play the game now, but my colleagues absolutely despise it.
To conclude, players who primarily rely on letter elimination are the ones truly affected by the hard mode. Most players normally use the revealed letters to guess the next word anyway. Players who do that are already playing the game in hard mode, without even enabling the option. If you are one of them, turning on the hard mode won’t greatly affect your gameplay.
So, are you enjoying the daily Wordle puzzles? Do you prefer the hard or normal mode in the game?
Yes, Wordle has a hard mode that forces players to use the letters revealed in the previous guesses on the next guess.
To enable Wordle hard mode, simply open the puzzle’s settings and turn on the hard mode toggle.
No, Wordle hard mode cannot be enabled mid-game. You can only enable it at the start of the game.
