Strategy · 6 min read

Nerdle Strategy Guide: Best Starting Equations & Deduction Tips

Nerdle gives you six guesses to find an eight-character equation like 48-27=21. Solving it in three or four guesses isn't luck — it's a repeatable process. Here's how to lock it in.

1. Pick a high-coverage opener

Your first guess should test as many common digits and one operator as possible. Strong openers combine four unique digits, a + or -, and a plausible result:

9+8-7=10 — tests 7, 8, 9, 1, 0 and both light operators.
48-36=12 — spreads across mid-range digits.
20/4+6=11 — brings / into play early.

2. Use the second guess to burn the rest of the digit set

Whatever your opener didn't test, cover it on turn two. If you opened with 9+8-7=10, follow with something like 24*3=72 to check 2, 3, 4, 7, and multiplication. After two guesses you've seen 8–10 unique digits and 2–3 operators — enough to narrow the answer sharply.

3. Anchor the equals sign first

Nerdle answers always contain exactly one =. Once you know its position, the length of the result is fixed and the arithmetic collapses fast. Prioritise guesses that pin the equals column before you start fine-tuning digits.

4. Think in operator families

Addition and subtraction produce a narrow band of results; multiplication and division blow the range open. If your green digits suggest a small result (0–20), lean addition/subtraction. If you see a large number on the right side, test multiplication.

5. Track "purple" (right digit, wrong slot) ruthlessly

Nerdle's purple tiles are your biggest information source. Every purple locks a digit into the answer and eliminates one column. Write them down if you have to — brute-forcing purple placements beats guessing new digits almost every time.

Want more than one puzzle format?

Nerdle is brilliant, but it's the same shape every day: an eight-tile equation. Once you've solved a hundred, the process starts to feel automatic. If that's you, try Numerly's daily puzzle. It rotates through visual number patterns, letter grids, triangle arithmetic and more — same five-minute daily rhythm, but the shape changes every day so the deduction stays fresh.

You can also browse the full puzzle library untimed if you want to sharpen a specific pattern type.