# How a Friend’s Guess Changes Your Next Move on a Shared Board Learn how to read a friend’s guess, combine the shared clues and choose a more informed next move In a Worduel friend game, both players use one shared board and the same secret word. Here’s how to turn your friend’s result into a useful clue for your next turn On a shared board, your friend’s guess gives you information too. When your turn arrives, you do not start over: read their result alongside the earlier guesses, then choose a word that fits all the clues. A guess that does not solve the secret can still narrow down which letters belong in it and where they can go ## One guess, two players’ clues A Worduel friend game has one secret word and one board shared by two players. You take turns entering guesses, and both players can use the results shown on the board. A green letter is in the right place, a yellow letter is in the word but belongs elsewhere, and a grey letter has no unused copy in the secret. Treat each result as part of the same growing set of clues Before you play Each turn lasts 45 seconds. Friend games allow three skips; a fourth skip loses the game ## A worked example: follow the whole board A shared board in progress crank light arose snake brand crane Scores from left to right: light: × × × × ×; arose: ↔ ✓ × × ×; snake: × ↔ ✓ ↔ ×; brand: × ✓ ✓ ✓ ×; crane: ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ×. ✓ means the letter is in the right place, ↔ means it is elsewhere in the secret, and × means there is no unused copy Imagine these five guesses arriving on alternating turns. After light, neither player has a confirmed letter from that guess. Then arose gives both players two useful facts: R is fixed in the second position, and A is in the secret but not in the first position. Snake puts A in the third position and shows that N and K are in the word but misplaced. Brand confirms R, A and N in positions two, three and four. Finally, crane confirms C at the start and shows that E is absent from the secret. The board now gives the next player a much tighter pattern to work with ## How to choose your next move The useful question is not simply whether your friend got closer. Ask what their guess confirmed, what it ruled out, and how those results combine with earlier turns. A newer row does not erase an older clue: keep every confirmed position and misplaced letter in view as you consider your next guess Turn the shared clues into a plan Read your friend’s result first Check every colored tile on the latest guess. A misplaced letter is still useful, but it needs to move to a different position Combine it with earlier guesses Keep confirmed positions fixed and keep misplaced letters out of positions already ruled out. Check the full board, not only the most recent row Choose between testing and solving If several positions remain uncertain, choose a guess that helps test them while fitting the clues. If the pattern is tight, try a word that fits every result and could solve the secret ## A useful guess can help without solving In the example, crane does not win the game, but it gives the next player a strong clue: four letters are in the right positions, and E is not in the secret. With the known example answer crank, the remaining pattern is C-R-A-N-_, and the final letter is not E. In a live game, you would use that pattern with the rest of the board rather than repeat a guess that ignores what your friend found. That is the point of sharing a board: one player’s turn can narrow the puzzle for the other, even when it does not find the answer After the guess arose, what should both players carry forward? R is fixed in position two, and A is in the word but not in position one A is fixed in position one, and R is somewhere else Neither A nor R is in the secret R is fixed in position two, and A is in the word but not in position one Option 1 is correct: R is green in the second position, while A is yellow, so A belongs in the secret but not in the first position ## Keep the friend-game format in mind The first player to solve the secret wins. Friend games do not change Elo, and they keep series scores; the first player alternates on rematches. There is no in-game chat, so make your decisions from the clues on the shared board instead of relying on a message during your turn A quick shared-board check Did your friend confirm a letter or rule out a position? Does your planned guess fit every result already on the board? Are you testing an uncertain pattern or trying a likely solution? - [Worduel: English](https://worduel.gg/) Try a shared English word game Use the clues together and see who solves the secret first Play with a friend