Khushboo Malhotra

2022 may go down as the year of Wordle – as the internet became captivated by the perplexing puzzle game – it’s become a daily staple for millions worldwide. One thing you will know about Wordle by now – it’s one of the most popular word puzzle games on the planet.

The once-a-day word fever game, founded by Josh Wordle, witnessed a catapulting surge in popularity as it went from dozens to millions of players within a few weeks of its release – growing a mammoth fan following. However, Wordle is more than just an amusing game – it is a tale of love.

If you’re looking for insights into its origins, how it became so popular, and how to play the game like a pro, here’s everything you need to know!

What is Wordle?

Wordle is one of the most popular and engaging web-based word games, now owned by The New York Times, who bought it in February 2022 for an undisclosed figure “in the low seven figures”.

It’s free to play and invites players to guess a five-letter word. After every guess, it tells you whether any suggested letters are in the answer and whether they are in the correct place.

But there’s a catch: you only have six tries to get it right – if you don’t, you have to wait until the next day. Sounds ideal for a lazy, quiet day when you want to unwind on your couch, play a little game, and do some creative brainstorming, doesn’t it?

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What is the origin story of Worlde? Despite the word game’s catapulting success this year, its inspiration has the potential to be adapted into a lovely rom-com love story plot that, I’m sure, you’d like to watch on-screen.

Josh Wardle – a Welsh software engineer – first created a prototype of Wordle in 2013. Eight years later, in January 2021, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, he revamped his idea to create a word game for his partner Palak Shah, who is fond of word puzzles.

After getting into the New York Times Spelling Bee and the daily crossword, they joined forces and devised a guessing game to play between the two of them, killing time during the pandemic.

And as an ingenious twist to his last name, Josh named the game Wordle. “So I wanted to come up with a game that she would enjoy,” Wardle said. Being the lucky recipient of the first game, Shah said, “It’s really sweet. This is definitely how Josh shows his love.”

After playing the game for a few months, he introduced it in their family WhatsApp group, and family members quickly became obsessed with it, which made Wardle wonder if he was onto something big.

Shah played a vital role in getting the game ready for the public by creating a list of five-letter words in the English language — about 12,000 — and narrowing it down to about 2,500 familiar words. Finally, in October 2021, Wardle made it available to the rest of the world by posting it on his website powerlanguage.co.uk.

Within a month, the game had 90 players.  In its second month, it had 300,000 daily players, which rose to two million by the following week. The breakthrough, he said, was limiting players to one game per day – it enforced a sense of scarcity which leaves people wanting more.

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Wardle said he wanted Wordle to feel like a croissant – a “delightful snack” that’s enjoyed occasionally. This is explicitly why there’s only one puzzle per day. The Brooklyn-based creator, Wardle said: “Enjoyed too often and they lose their charm.”

So it’s a word game. What’s the big deal?

Yes, it’s just a word game but it has attracted millions of players and taken the internet by storm. Its popularity may sound perplexing, but there are a few little things about it that have caused everyone to go bonkers.

How to play?

1. Create a free account to save your progress.
2. You have six chances to guess the five-letter Wordle of the day.
3. Type in your guess or burner words and submit it by hitting the “enter” key. This will help you unravel more letters and their placements.
4. After each guess, the colour of the tiles will change to show how close your guess was to the answer.
5. Green tile shows that you have the correct letter on the right tile. The yellow tile shows that you have guessed the correct letter but in the wrong spot. The Grey tile shows that the letter you chose is not in the word at all.
6. You then have one chance to use these suggestions, or you can try to get a high score by correctly guessing the word of the day in three, two, or even one go.
7. Continue until you solve the Wordle or run out of guesses. Good luck!

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Anyone can play, and it is free. So what makes it unique?

Wordle became a front-runner this year because of its unique characteristics.

  • Same puzzle: Every player plays the same puzzle game every day, and you only get one shot at the Wordle in a day- it raises the of stakes to get it right. It resets at midnight every day in your time zone.
  • Simple and Quick: Wordle only wants you to spend 3-4 minutes of your day on the game.
  • Share without spoilers: Players can share the game on social media without spoiling the answer for others. Once you’ve successfully (or unsuccessfully) played the puzzle, you’re invited to share your Wordle journey for the day and rejoice in a series of masked yellow, green and grey boxes – keeping the mysterious air that piqued people’s interest.
  • No advertisements: The best part is that you can fully concentrate on your game without being distracted by adverts and pop-ups. Despite its meteoric success, Wardle promised not to burden it with advertisements, flashing banners, pop-up windows, or requests for money. He does not want to capitalise from the game or its players.
  • Winning streaks: Wordle keeps players’ track records, recording wins and losses – to maintain winning streaks.
  • Breaks the ice: Wordle is more than a word game – it’s a conversation starter. It’s an opportunity to cultivate friendly social communities where you can chat about the puzzle of the day since everyone is working on it together.
  • No reminders: Unlike other games, Wardle refused to add growth-hacking features to tempt his consumers by sending notifications. However, you can now sign up for daily Wordle reminders on the New York Times website – so you don’t miss your winning streak.

Wordle clones

There have been many Wordle clones produced since the game rose to prominence. While some are crafty and sleazy cash grabs, there are many unique and delightful alternatives to keep you entertained.

Wordle does not have an app, but it is available to play on a web browser.

  • Click here to give it a go.

Featured Image courtesy of  Nils Huenerfuerst on Unsplash. Image license can be found here. No changes were made to this image. 

 

Khushboo is a Twitter Editor at Empoword Journalism. She is an Award-nominated lifestyle and pop culture journalist, writer, and budding entrepreneur aiming to break down the boundaries of cultural stigma and shame attached to mental health and sexual health and bring marginalised topics to light. Send your stories, tips, and press announcements to khushboomalhotrafreelance@gmail.com

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