New York, April 28, 2026, 09:42 (EDT)
- Wordle #1,774 came up with QUACK—a word that starts with Q and features no repeating letters.
- Monday’s EERIE proved significantly tougher, with WordleBot clocking an average of 4.4 guesses; over 10% of players couldn’t crack it, according to Tom’s Guide.
- This shift is notable, given Wordle’s core—streaks, statistics, and that daily cadence—all tied to the New York Times Games app.
After Monday’s streak-busting EERIE, Wordle threw players another curveball Tuesday. The New York Times picked QUACK for puzzle #1,774—not as punishing as the day before, but hardly smooth sailing either.
This hits differently now that Wordle isn’t just a throwaway puzzle. The NYT Games app keeps tabs on streaks, aggregates total solves, and clocks average solve times—so a tough word actually lands as a minor event for the daily crowd.
The deal’s important for the Times, too. After snapping up Wordle in 2022—price not disclosed, though people familiar pegged it somewhere in the low seven figures—the company slotted the game into its larger games strategy, betting on sticky daily routines over chasing sporadic traffic.
Tom’s Guide called Tuesday’s puzzle “a little tricky,” pointing to WordleBot — the New York Times’ post-game analysis tool — which tracked an average of 4.0 moves in standard play, dipping just slightly to 3.9 with hard rules. Those hard rules, for reference, require any revealed letters to be included in all following guesses. Tom’s Guide
QUACK didn’t repeat any letters, though it kicked off with a Q—a letter that rarely shows up as a Wordle opener. Marc McLaren at TechRadar pointed out that Q ranks as the second rarest letter in Wordle’s original solution bank, making an appearance just 29 times in 2,309 possible answers. And for the most part, those Q words actually begin with Q.
McLaren, who heads up TechRadar globally and is known for his Wordle insights, cracked Tuesday’s puzzle in just three tries, though he admitted, “had luck on my side.” His take: Q words might seem tough at first glance, but when you land a U, Q usually follows quickly. TechRadar
Monday brought a twist. With four vowels and three Es, EERIE tripped up anyone expecting no more than a double letter. Tom’s Guide put the numbers at just 1.9% getting it on turn two, 12.3% after three, 39.2% in four, and 89.6% solving by six tries—just over 10% missed out entirely.
TechRadar called EERIE a particularly packed Wordle solution: just three unique letters, two vowels up front, one letter showing up three times, and four vowels in total. No wonder it made people pause—even though the word is familiar.
It’s a packed field, and NYT is leaning into familiar territory. The NYT Games app places Wordle next to Connections, Spelling Bee, and Strands, bundling them together while tracking progress and leaderboards for multiple puzzles. That daily loop? Still firmly in place.
The risk swings both directions. More challenging or unusual answers tend to boost searches and chatter, but for players concerned with keeping their streaks alive, that can be a headache. TechRadar pointed out that the Times could slip in new answers or recycle previous ones, so those lists of old answers don’t guarantee anything.
Tuesday’s QUACK, at least, wasn’t as punishing as EERIE. Players still had to find an unusual starter, but this time, the puzzle skipped the triple-letter pitfall that left many Wordle regulars griping about Monday’s puzzle being a streak-breaker.
