Wordle today: Here's the answer, hints for June 18

Ladies and gentlemen: The weekend. Specifically, it's Saturday, and it's time to solve a new Wordle. 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 tips and hints to nudge you towards the solution.

You may skip to the very end of this article for the answer to the June 18 Wordle, #364 — but we don't want to spoil it ahead of time. In the meantime, scroll down for a few tips, gentle hints, and strategies to help you every day.

Wordle was created by former Reddit engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his puzzle-loving partner, but soon went mega-viral. Thousands of people around the globe now play this game each day, and fans have even created alternatives to Wordle inspired by the original format. This includes music identification game Heardle, Hollywood nerd faves Actorle and Framed, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that 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.

More Wordle: Here's the answer, hints for June 19.

Not the day you're after? You'll find the Wordle answer for June 17 here.

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 Wordle too 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 Wordle is 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 Wordle law.

This aberration is due to changes the New York Times began making after it acquired Wordle earlier 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 Wordle answer today:

It's a noun.

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

Wordle today is brought to you by the letter 'C.'

What's the answer to Wordle on June 18?

Ready?

OK...

The answer is...

CACAO.

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.