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The end of 2021 introduced a new genre of tweet: grids of green, yellow, and grey boxes with numbers and the word “Wordle.” It’s easy to find out what Wordle is and decipher the grids and numbers. But why has Wordle become so popular in shared public spaces?
### What is Wordle?
Wordle is a daily word game created by Josh Wardle, where players solve a word puzzle using process-of-elimination clues. Each day, a new word puzzle is presented on the website, challenging players to guess a five-letter word by entering guesses and adjusting based on color feedback.
### How does Wordle work?
Players input a five-letter word guess on the website, and the color of each letter’s box changes to indicate correctness. Green means the letter is in the word and in the correct position, yellow means the letter is in the word but in the wrong position, and grey means the letter is not in the word at all. The website provides a tutorial graphic for first-time visitors.
### Why is Wordle such a big deal?
Wordle gained popularity after Wardle added a “Share” feature, allowing players to easily post their daily performance online. The platform-agnostic feature copies the grid seen on Twitter as emojis to the device’s clipboard. This made it easier for players to share their results on social media, leading to increased discussion and interest around Wordle.
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It’s honestly best — and easiest — if you go try it for yourself. There’s no cost to play Wordle; you just go to the website, make your guesses, and that’s it for the day. Then you can decide for yourself if it’s something you want to turn into a daily pastime.
Personally, I think Wordle’s success lands somewhere between the New York Times crossword puzzle and Wheel of Fortune. The hidden word changes daily but, just like NYT crosswords, it’s the same for everyone each day — so it’s an experience every player shares, even if they take different routes to finding the same answer. And the puzzle itself is limited to just one, five-letter word, which makes it more like Wheel’s mainstream “anyone can do this” appeal.
Then add in the brilliant sharing feature which uses non-specific colored box emoji to let people easily and clearly brag about their Wordle wins. When you post one of those indecipherable-to-outsiders grids on social media, you’re implicitly telling every follower, “Hey, I play this too. We’re in on this cool internet thing together. Let’s talk about it.”
Is there a Wordle app for Android or iOS? Is Wordle free?
My first instinct when I learned of Wordle’s existence was to fire up an app store and search for it. Surely, I reasoned, this immensely popular thing on Twitter tied to an app of some kind.
You might find “Wordle” results in an iOS App Store or Google Play Store search, but don’t mistake it for the real thing. Wordle, the original one Josh Wardle came up with and kindly delivered unto the internet in late 2021, currently only exists as a browser game that lives right here. If you’re playing it anywhere else, it’s — at best — a shameless knock-off that’s trying to capitalize on someone else’s success.
And, yes, it’s still free.
Who made Wordle? Where did Wordle come from?
Wordle’s sudden explosion at the end of 2021 led to a round of press focused on its creator. Wardle actually came up with the game in 2021 as a private exercise for him and his word game-loving partner. It eventually became a staple of their family WhatsApp messaging, and that’s when Wardle started to suspect he might have something special enough to merit a wider release.
The very sweet origin story is thoroughly detailed in this great NYT profile of Wardle and his latest creation. You’re better off reading that for the full scoop, but as far as basics go it’s enough to know that Wordle was conceived by a caring person who wanted to keep his partner entertained during the quiet, trying times of our ongoing global pandemic.
You can also click the gear icon at the top of the Wordle website to tweak a few things. There’s a Dark Theme option for those who prefer something other than the eye-searing intensity of a mostly-white screen. A “Hard Mode” switch requires all guesses after the first one to account for revealed hints. (So turning back to our previous “APPLE” example, every guess after “PAPER” would have to use “A,” “E,” and two letters “P,” with one of the always plugged into the third box.) Finally, there’s a “Color Blind Mode” which uses high contrast colors for those who need or prefer it.
Some people have gotten really into analyzing Wordle’s inner mechanics and the way it gets us playing with (English) language. Others have take more of a lesson from Wardle’s initially DIY vibe with the game and embraced that for their own lives.
Really though, there’s no “wrong” way to play. The beauty of Wordle is its simplicity. It won’t even let you get away with plugging a nonsense lineup of letters in lieu of an actual word; every guess you make is checked against Wordle’s own dictionary. If your guess isn’t a real word, the game doesn’t allow you to push it through.
Give it a try and see for yourself. Once you’re hooked, it’s difficult to resist coming back for more.
Reporting by Caitlin Welsh contributed to this article.
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Not the answer you were expecting? Here is today’s Wordle solution.
Topics
Gaming
Wordle
