Wordle Players Stumped By Challenging Sumac Puzzle

On Sunday, January 18, 2026, Wordle enthusiasts around the globe woke up to a particularly tricky puzzle. Wordle #1674, as reported by multiple outlets including IGN India, CNET, and The New York Times, challenged players with a word that, for many, was both unfamiliar and deceptively simple: SUMAC.

For those who haven’t yet caught the Wordle bug, here’s a quick primer. Wordle is a daily online word puzzle game that asks players to guess a hidden five-letter word in six tries or fewer. After each guess, the game provides color-coded feedback: green for correct letters in the right place, yellow for correct letters in the wrong place, and grey for letters that aren’t in the word at all. The format is straightforward, but the challenge can vary wildly from day to day. As IGN India explains, “The goal in Wordle is to figure out a five-letter word, and you have six chances to do so.”

On this particular Sunday, the puzzle proved to be a tough nut to crack. According to The New York Times, their team of testers averaged 5.7 guesses out of 6 to solve Wordle #1674, a clear indicator that the word was “very challenging.” That’s just a whisker away from running out of attempts entirely! The hints provided by various publications offered some guidance: the word was a noun, contained five unique letters with no repeats, included two vowels, and began with the letter ‘S’. It also ended with the letter ‘C’—a detail highlighted by CNET and Rock Paper Shotgun.

But what exactly is SUMAC? For some, the answer might have conjured memories of backyard plants or culinary adventures. As CNET put it, “It’s something we had in my yard when I was a kid, but I guess not everyone even knows what it is.” SUMAC refers to a genus of flowering plants known for their bright colors, particularly their cone-shaped clusters of red berries that appear in autumn. These berries, when dried and ground, become a tangy, lemony spice widely used in Middle Eastern cuisine. Forbes described the answer as “a Middle Eastern spice,” while Rock Paper Shotgun elaborated that “sumac is a green bush that grows in temperate to subtropical climates and carries cone-shaped clusters of red berries in autumn. Pluck, dry, and grind the berries, and you have the sumac spice.”

The etymology of the word itself is a journey across languages and cultures. As Forbes detailed, “Sumac comes from Middle English sumac, via Old French, from Arabic summāq (or summāqah), referring to the red berries of the plant. The Arabic term likely comes from a root meaning ‘red,’ reflecting the plant’s distinctive color.” It’s a word that carries both botanical and culinary significance, but for many Wordle players, it was an unfamiliar hurdle.

Hints and strategies abounded online for those desperate to preserve their all-important win streaks. Rock Paper Shotgun suggested starting with the word “clams” to maximize yellow tiles, revealing four correct letters in the wrong positions. Others, like Forbes, shared their own starting words and strategic missteps. One player began with “PRONE,” only to find themselves left with 399 possible words. A second guess, “CLAIM,” narrowed the field to four, but it still took another try before landing on SUMAC. The Wordle Bot, an AI analysis tool referenced by Forbes, managed to solve the puzzle in three guesses—outperforming many human competitors and sparking a bit of friendly rivalry in the community’s competitive scoring system.

Social media and comment sections lit up with reactions. Players swapped stories of near-misses and last-guess triumphs. Some lamented their lack of botanical knowledge, while others reveled in their familiarity with Middle Eastern spices. The day’s puzzle even prompted a bit of culinary curiosity, with some players vowing to try sumac in their next meal. As CNET noted, “Today’s Wordle puzzle is a tough one,” and the consensus was clear: SUMAC was a curveball.

The challenge of the day also highlighted the game’s enduring appeal. Wordle, originally created by software engineer Josh Wardle as a private game for his partner during the pandemic, has become a global sensation since its public release in October 2021. By the end of that year, it had millions of daily players and was eventually acquired by The New York Times for a seven-figure sum. Its success lies in its simplicity and shareability—players can easily post their results online without spoiling the answer, fostering a sense of community and friendly competition. As Rock Paper Shotgun observed, “Wordle can be tricky, you see, and it’s not unusual to look for a little bit of help if you want to preserve your year-long winstreak.”

Beyond the daily puzzle, Wordle has inspired a host of spin-offs and variants. There’s Competitive Wordle, where players tally points based on how quickly they solve the puzzle compared to friends or the Wordle Bot. There are also themed versions like Worldle (guess the country by its shape), Waffle (swap letters to complete a grid), and even Moviedle (guess the film from a rapid-fire video montage). For those seeking an even greater challenge, Hard Mode and Ultra-Hard rules restrict the types of guesses players can make, ratcheting up the difficulty.

January 18, 2026, will go down as one of those memorable Wordle days—a reminder that a five-letter word can unite, confound, and delight players from all walks of life. Whether you guessed SUMAC on your first try or sweated it out to the very last guess, you were part of a global puzzle-solving moment. And as always, tomorrow brings a new word, a fresh challenge, and another chance to test your wits against the world.