【ALL OUT: AJ RAVAL】

Welcome to today's Wordle, #372, y'all. Working it out all by yourself is the most satisfying way, it's true — but if you get stuck and start to get nervous about your streak, we've got some Wordletips and hints to nudge you towards the solution.

The answer to the June 26 Wordlecan be found at the end of this article — or you can make your way down in a more leisurely fashion for a few tips, gentle hints, and strategies to help you every day.

Who made Wordle? Where did Wordle come from?

Wordle's sudden explosion at the end of 2021 led to a round of press focused on its creator. Former Reddit engineer Josh Wardle actually came up with the game in 2021 as a private exercise for him and his word game-loving partner. It eventually became a staple of their family WhatsApp messaging, and that's when Wardle started to suspect he might have something special enough to merit a wider release.

The very sweet origin story is thoroughly detailed in this great NYTprofile of Wardle and his latest creation. You're better off reading that for the full scoop, but as far as basics go it's enough to know that Wordle was conceived by a caring person who wanted to keep his partner entertained during the quiet, trying times of our ongoing global pandemic.

Thousands of people around the globe now play this game each day, and fans have even created alternatives to Wordleinspired by the original format. This includes music identification game Heardle, Hollywood nerd faves Actorleand Framed, and variations like Dordleand Quordlethat make you guess multiple words at once. 

In fact, the word puzzle game has proved so popular that the New York Times eventually bought it, and TikTok creators livestream themselves playing.

Not the day you're after? You'll find the Wordleanswer for June 25 here.

Look to the future!Here's where you'll find the answer for June 27.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

We have some ideas to help you pick the perfect first move (or as close to perfect as you can get without just magically guessing the exact right word). Such tips include choosing a word with at least two different vowels in it, plus a few common consonants such as S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

While you could once play the entire archive of past puzzles, the archive was taken down at the request of the New York Times, according to the site.

Is Wordle getting harder?

If you've been finding Wordletoo easy, there is a Hard Mode you can enable to give yourself more of a challenge. But unless you activate this mode, we can assure you that Wordle isn't getting harder. 

Why are there two different Wordle answers some days?

The whole point of Wordleis that everyone's solving the same puzzle, with the same answer, no matter where you are in the world. However, occasionally the puzzle game will accept two different correct solutions on the same day, in apparent defiance of Wordlelaw.

This aberration is due to changes the New York Timesbegan making after it acquired Wordleearlier this year. To make sure you're always getting the same puzzle as everyone else, refresh your browser before you play — don't worry, the site will keep your streak.

A subtle hint for the June 26 Wordle answer:

It's an adjective.

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

...the letter 'R.'

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What's the answer to Wordle on June 26?

Ready?

We'll finally tell you the answer.

It's...

RUSTY.

Phew. Well, we'll see you tomorrow!

Reporting by Caitlin Welsh, Amanda Yeo and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Wordle.