Today’s Wordle answer is brutal — here’s why March 13's puzzle could ruin your 2026 streak

Wordle isn't giving players an easy ride for Friday the 13th with game #1,728, the unluckiest day of the year. If you're a regular player of NYT's beloved daily word game, you might want to check out today's overall Wordle hint before starting.

WordleBot says it'll take an average of 4.8 guesses in normal mode and 4.7 in hard mode. That's quite high (the average is 4.1, according to Engaging Data).

In the end, the March 13th Wordle #1,728 answer is a tough one with the potential to end many streaks. Even if you follow the best Wordle starting words, you might still find yourself feeling a little stumped by the puzzle today. Maybe the Wordle people thought ending streaks on Friday the 13th would be funny.

If you want to know the answer, scroll a little further down below the bold text, where I'll put it. Sure, you can keep your streak alive by just reading the answer, but where's the fun in that?

Looking back at the hardest Wordles of 2025, this one doesn't seem so bad, as TIZZY received a 5.4 rating by the WordleBot. But that's only number 10 on the list! Number one was EAGER, with an incredible 6.0.

Again, today's puzzle is hard, with the average player completing it in 4.8 moves in easy mode or 4.7 in hard mode. Will it make the list as one of the hardest Wordles in 2026? Time will tell, but considering number 10's 5.4 last year, we might just be scratching the surface for hard Wordle puzzles.

So, what makes today's answer so difficult? To discuss it, we'll need to reveal the answer — stop reading now if you haven't played Wordle yet and don't want it spoiled...

Spoiler alert: Today's answer below

I'm going to assume you heeded the warning ahead and know that today's puzzle's answer is "EATEN."

You know, like how this puzzle has eaten lots of Wordle players' beloved streaks. Or how my pride was eaten by having to use six guesses to get it right. Not the most common word and not an easy one to guess by any means.

Dictionary.com defines it as: "a past participle of eat." While not the most exciting definition, it is most definitely an exciting word for players with its triple vowel structure and "e" starting letter.

How the Tom's Guide team fared

I talked to some members of the Tom's Guide team who take part in the daily Wordle ritual, and not everyone was thrilled with game #1,728. This is a spoiler-free section if you skipped over the answer to read our thoughts, you have nothing to worry about.

Erin Bashford, Senior Writer, Reviews, said, "I just did it and didn't think it was hard! Maybe it's a British/American thing? Do you guys mostly use the other past tense version of that verb?" As an American, that is absolutely true for me. I very rarely use this particular word.

Talking to Streaming Managing Editor Kelly Woo, I received a "triumph" emoji. She also mentioned that one of her friends got it in two, which is both shocking and impressive.

Tom's Guide U.S. Editor-in-Chief Mike Prospero spoke to his wife, a dedicated Wordle player, who said, "I got 3 letters in my first guess, and I still had to use all of my turns."

Let us know in the comments how many turns it took you to get today's answer!

Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.

More from Tom's Guide

• I analyzed every Wordle answer to look for patterns — here's what I found
• This Wordle trick kept my streak going — and you'll probably hate it
• Best Wordle start words to help you keep your streak