What is Wordle and why is everyone talking about it?
You may have noticed that your Twitter feed has been filling up with green and yellow tiles as of late. It’s all thanks to people playing a word guessing game called Wordle.
So, what is Wordle and why is everyone suddenly obsessed with it? Join us as we find out.
What is Wordle?
Wordle is a browser-based word guessing game, there’s no app to download, you just visit this website and get cracking.
The game gives you six chances to guess a five-letter word and each day the page is updated with a new word. The word is the same for all players globally.
How to play Wordle
Each day you have six tries to guess the word. You begin by typing a five-letter word into the spaces provided.
If a letter you have chosen is correct and in the correct place, the tile will turn green.
If a letter you have chosen is in the word but in the wrong place it will turn yellow.
If a letter is not in the word in any spot, then it will turn grey.
Once you have either guessed the word or used up all of your attempts you are given the option to share your result and view stats for the day.
Why is Wordle so popular?
It’s impossible to say for certain why things go viral, but there’s a few factors that make Wordle so engaging.
Firstly, it’s super easy to share your results and doing so made Wordle trend on Twitter quite rapidly.
You can also get started just by visiting a website, no sign-ups are needed and there is nothing to download.
The game has a great balance of being very easy to understand but difficult enough to be a serious challenge.
Lastly, it’s a shared experience. So all players from all countries can share their results and other Wordle players will immediately know what’s going on.
Where did Wordle come from?
Wordle was created by Josh Wardle, and yes, it’s a play on his surname. Previously a software engineer for Reddit, you may remember some of his previous creations, such as the collaborative social experiment called Place that launched on April Fools Day in 2017.
According to a New York Times article, Josh Wardle initially created Wordle for his partner, Palak Shah, so that they could kill time playing together during the pandemic. He later introduced the game to a family WhatsApp group and eventually revealed it to the world in October 2021.
Wardle attributes much of the success to the once-per-day nature of the game, which leaves players wanting more rather than becoming quickly burnt out on the concept.
