Choosing a random starting word isn’t necessarily inconsistent with playing to win. Even if it’s technically a handicap overall, it’s at least surmountable, and

Choosing a random starting word isn’t necessarily inconsistent with playing to win. Even if it’s technically a handicap overall, it’s at least surmountable, and can be an advantage to stay nimble with the added “challenge”. I feel the same way about “hard mode” (which I still refer to as “easy mode”).