Wordle -- The New York Times -- September 6, 2022

Link here. 

The favorite starting word among players [is] ADIEU, the French word for “farewell.” 

It was used by an average of 5 percent of users each day, which still included millions of people. And even after a June 22 CNET article discouraged using ADIEU — because its abundance of vowels may interfere with the chance of getting some good consonants — it was still one of the top five guesses. 

Most popular "wordle" first guesses: adieu, audio, stare, raise, arise. 

Finding a good balance of non-repeating vowels and commonly used consonants, such as R, S, T or N, is also said to give the player an advantage. 

And yet, there are nuances to that strategy. 

In a request from The Times for the experiences of players, Kat Whyte of Central Point, Ore., said that she starts with ADIEU. “It contains all the vowels except O and possibly Y,” she said, adding, “D is fairly common.” 

On the other hand, fellow Wordle player Michael Lounsberry of Seattle said, “Finding consonants is where it’s at! Finding vowels is a bad strategy.” 

The second attempt, the prevailing wisdom goes, should use completely different letters to increase the likelihood of solving the daily puzzle in the fewest guesses.

Me? I haven't missed a game in months. I often stay up to midnight just to get the next puzzle. With one exception -- and that was some months ago, I never miss. I generally get it on the fourth try. Seldom on the sixth. Very seldom on the third. 

My starting word used to be adieu, but now I use adept. I was surprised to see adept not among the most frequently first used words.

My wife uses adieu after I suggested it to her. She generally solves the puzzle much more quickly than I do, generally in three tries.

The game is not yet monetized. That was a prerequisite for the inventor of the puzzle to "give it" to The NY Times for free. I believe the small print says it must be kept "free" for a certain number of years, after which The NY Times can monetize the puzzle.