NEW YORK — Wordle players logging on Tuesday found a puzzle with an unmistakable ocean theme, as The New York Times' daily word game served up a five-letter term tied to underwater exploration for puzzle No. 1928.

The Sept. 29 puzzle landed a day after Monday's answer, TRUNK, and early analysis suggested most players would need about four tries to solve it. According to The New York Times' WordleBot, the average player finished Tuesday's puzzle in 3.9 guesses in standard mode and 3.8 guesses in hard mode.

Puzzle guides split on how hard the word was. Some described it as one of the easier puzzles of the week, while others flagged it as unusual because of its uncommon ending and letter pattern.

This article contains hints first, followed by the full answer further below. Readers who want to solve the puzzle on their own should stop before the section marked "Answer."

Wordle asks players to guess a hidden five-letter word in six attempts or fewer. After each guess, the tiles change color to show how close the player came. A green tile means the letter is in the word and in the correct spot. A yellow tile means the letter is in the word but in the wrong position. A gray tile means the letter does not appear in the word at all.

A new puzzle is released each day at midnight local time, meaning players in different time zones receive the next game at different moments. Everyone around the world solves the same word on the same calendar date.

Software engineer Josh Wardle created the game in 2021. The New York Times acquired it in early 2022, and it has since........

© International Business Times