Wordle: Everything You Need to Know About the Internet's Most Popular Word Game

The world has been taken over by Wordle.

You've probably certainly heard of Wordle by now. But what is a Wordle, exactly?

Have you recently spent any time on Twitter? Have you seen the posts with the yellow, green, and grey boxes? That's Wordle for you.

What exactly is Wordle?

Wordle is an online word game that you can play every day. It's simple, enjoyable, and, like a crossword puzzle, can only be completed once per day. There's a new word of the day every 24 hours, and it's up to you to find out what it is. The rules are explained in great detail on the website:

Wordle gives players six chances to predict a five-letter word that is chosen at random. If you put the proper letter in the right location, it becomes green, as illustrated above. When a proper letter is typed in the wrong place, it turns yellow. A letter that isn't part of the word in any way appears grey.

You can enter a total of six words, which means you can use five burner words to learn about the letters and their positions. Then you just have one chance to use those hints. Alternatively, you can aim for speed by guessing the word of the day in three, two, or even one go.

It's all very simple, yet it's also quite appealing.

So it's just a game of words? This is a big thing...

It's just a word game, after all. But it's hugely popular: according to The New York Times, over 300,000 people play it every day. That popularity may appear perplexing, but there are a few minor details that have caused everyone to go insane over it.

Every day, there is only one puzzle: This raises the stakes to a certain level. At the Wordle, you only get one shot. You'll have to wait till tomorrow to acquire a new puzzle if you make a mistake.

Everyone is working on the same puzzle: This is important since it makes it easy to ping your friend and talk about the puzzle for the day. "Today was a challenge!" "How did things go for you?" "Did you get it?" says the narrator. Which brings us to the next point...

It's simple to share your results: once you've completed the puzzle for the day (successfully or unsuccessfully), you're encouraged to share your Wordle adventure for the day. It looks like this if you tweet the image...

⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩
⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩
⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Wordle 184 5/6

Started to sweat a bit on this one!

It's worth noting that the term and letters you choose are hidden. Your path to the word is depicted in a series of yellow, green, and grey boxes.

It's incredibly engrossing. There's a gloating element where you have to show your followers how brilliant you are and share if you get it easy, perhaps on your second or third try.

It's also a cool storey if you get it by the skin of your teeth in the sixth attempt. But, most significantly, the solution to the riddle isn't revealed.

OMG IT HAPPENED

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Wordle 184 1/6

Wordle is more than a word game; it's also a conversation starter and a way to brag on social media. That's why it's become so popular.

hints and tips

If you're a word game purist, you might want to skip the following advice and trust your gut feelings totally. If you're tired of seeing grey boxes, here are some suggestions you might find useful.

Choosing your first word is as follows: The first word is, without a doubt, the most crucial. Choose a word with three vowels and five separate letters to maximise the value of your opening gambit. Orate, media, and radio are among examples. For some reason, I always say "adieu." It's a habit I'm not willing to break.

I just finished reading a fantastic article by Tyler Glaiel, a programmer and game designer who attempted to find the best possible first word. We should all, apparently, start Wordle with the word "roate." Seriously, read the entire storey; it's fantastic.

Avoid reusing greys: At the bottom of the Wordle board, there's a keypad that tells which letters are green, yellow, and grey. Reusing letters that have turned grey is not a good idea. Yes, this appears to be self-evident. However, coming up with five-letter words that don't use letters you've already tried can take some time and effort. That work will be rewarded.

Letters can appear more than once: This makes things more difficult, especially when you're out of letters and need to try word four or five. However, letters frequently reoccur, as evidenced by the fact that words like cool, sissy, and ferry were once accurate responses.

Who invented Wordle?

Wordle was designed by software programmer Josh Wardle for his partner, a word game aficionado, and according to the BBC, it will never be cluttered with advertisements. Wardle is most known for creating Place, a completely insane collaborative art project/social experiment that threw the internet into a frenzy in April 2017.

Place was a public online space where anyone could fight over anything was drawn there. As a result, massive, widespread communities fought for space on this massive online canvas.

This is how it turned out in the end:

Wordle was mentioned in The New York Times in November, but it truly took off after the share feature was enabled.

Wardle remarked on Reddit that he wanted Wordle to feel like a croissant, a "delightful nibble" that can be savoured on occasion. This is the reason why each day only has one puzzle. "If you enjoy them too much," he explained, "they lose their allure," Wardle says.

Agreed.

The purchase of the New York Times

Josh Wardle, the creator of Wordle, sold it to the New York Times for "in the low seven figures" at the end of January.

Wardle said his "game has gone greater than I ever expected," but that he's "only one person."

Although Wordle will eventually become part of the New York Times subscription puzzle service, Wardle has ensured that it will stay free to play and that existing streaks will be preserved.

"It's vital to me that Wordle continues to provide a fantastic experience for everyone as it grows," Wardle added. "In light of this, I'm overjoyed to say that I've negotiated an arrangement with The New York Times for them to continue to run Wordle."

Since joining the New York Times, Wordle hasn't gotten any harder.

It simply hasn't happened! Come on, people!

According to The New York Times, "nothing has changed about the game play," said Jordan Cohen, the Times' communications director, in an email to CNET.

If you look at the game's script, you'll notice that the New York Times hasn't made any major modifications.

There are numerous options available.

There have been clones since Wordle's breakthrough. There are a lot of clones. Some of them were cynical money grabs, but a large number of them were unique and exciting alternatives.

• Worldle enables you to make educated guesses about countries based on their shapes.
• Squabble is a Battle Royale-style multiplayer variant of Wordle.
• Dordle requires you to solve two Wordles at the same time.

That's simply the iceberg's tip. If you get weary of the original, here's a very thorough list of word games to try.