You All Need to Calm Down About Wordle
In October 2021, developer Josh Wardle released Wordle (Opens in a new window). By the end of the year, the word game had gone from a private inside joke to a public social media sensation. If your Twitter feed is anything like mine, every day in January you’ve been bombarded with Wordle scores. Wordle is everywhere. This article is part of the problem.
In an era when even the best games have questionable caveats, it's refreshing to see everyone rally around something as simple and pure as Wordle. Still, nothing good can last in this world, so I’m also constantly paranoid the other shoe will soon drop. If the endless conversations about Wordle go down a dark path, we’ll only destroy the thing that gives us so much joy. So this is my plea. Everyone, I beg you, please don’t ruin Wordle.
What Is Wordle?
When something blows up overnight, that creates a lot of confusion for folks who don’t understand what the thing is, and that confusion can lead to bad vibes. So, first let’s explain what Wordle is.
Wordle is a free, browser-based, word-guessing game that's more like Hangman than a bite-sized crossword puzzle. You have six chances to guess the five-letter word, and each guess provides clues to make your next guess a little more educated. If a letter is gray, that means the letter is not in the word at all. If a letter is yellow, that means the letter is in the word but in the wrong spot. If a letter is green, it’s the right letter in the right spot. The correct answer is five green letters in a row.
Similar to, say, a Zach Gage mobile game, Wordle displays an impressive amount of elegance within its simple design. With only five letters, guessing random words never feels like a totally unfair shot in the dark, and the words themselves are rarely obscure. People have developed Wordle strategies, such as always opening with the same words to knock out common letters. The way the clues naturally funnel you to make better guesses, getting you closer and closer to the “Eureka!” moment, provides exciting momentum. It’s not “Tired.” “Rotor” is almost there. It’s “Robot!” And the rare time you manage to get it right on your first or second try makes you feel like an absolute genius.
Compare Wordle to a past mainstream gaming sensation like HQ Trivia. That mobile game show, which paid winners real money, was pure chaos. By the end, people were more invested with the real-life drama surrounding the on-air hosts than they were with the game itself (shout out to Scott(Opens in a new window).) Wordle is the polar opposite. Wordle is quiet and cozy, a pleasant little brainteaser for folks who deal with words every day. Nothing about that suggests bad vibes. Yet, that hasn’t stopped some people from ruining the mood.
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