If you're struggling to solve today's Wordle puzzle, do not despair—even the game's inventor often needs several attempts to guess the correct word.
"[My partner] and I play it on the couch together each morning," New York-based software engineer Josh Wardle told Newsweek in January 2022. "She will consistently get it in three goes, which is way, way better than I can ever hope to achieve. I normally need at least four or five attempts."
Years after coming up with the initial concept, Welsh-born Wardle perfected Wordle during the COVID-19 lockdowns before releasing it to the public in October 2021.
Wordle exploded from 90 users on November 1, 2021 to 300,000 on January 2, 2022. The New York Times purchased it for an undisclosed seven-figure fee soon after and it went on to become the outlet's most popular game.
For the uninitiated, Wordle players get six attempts to guess a five-letter word. Gray tiles behind a letter indicate that it is not in the word at all; yellow means the letter features but is in the wrong position; while green lets players know the letter is in the word and in the correct place.
Erhan Aslan, an expert in applied linguistics who teaches at the University of Reading in the U.K., previously provided some useful advice for Wordle players in an interview with Newsweek.
"One thing that I think is important in this game is the starting word chosen," Aslan said. "Starting off with words that include commonly used vowels—for example, e and a, consonants such as r and t—and sound sequences might be helpful.
"Choosing a word that starts with q, z, j or x, for instance, may not be the best choice. You get more feedback after a few guesses. Users need to draw on some knowledge of phonics to narrow down or eliminate some words that they might be thinking."
Newsweek has provided some clues below for today's Wordle puzzle. The answer will be revealed at the end of this article, so please scroll down with caution if you want to work it out for yourself.
'Wordle' #1,259, Clues for Friday, November 29
Newsweek has put together five hints to help you figure out today's Wordle puzzle.
Hint #1: Today's answer contains two vowels.
Hint #2: "H" is the first letter of today's word.
Hint #3: There is one repeated letter.
Hint #4: Today's answer is a noun.
Hint #5: The answer is the abbreviated name of a large mammal.
'Wordle' #1,259, Answer for Friday, November 29
Today's Wordle answer is "Hippo."
Wordle updates every day at midnight, at which point the next puzzle becomes available. Newsweek will be back with another round of hints and tips for each new game.
Players who would like something to keep themselves busy while they wait can have a go at other word-based puzzles such as Typochondria and Spellspire.
English (US) ·