Recently, I got bitten by the bug – the ‘everyone is playing’ bug. It’s pretty cool for a puzzle. It is short and ensures you don’t waste your day. Plus, you can play it daily. The maximum time I have spent in a day is (a dedicated) 15 minutes. Quickest being 3. All you have to do is guess the word in 6 tries. That’s right. I’m talking about Wordle! A word puzzle that the world is playing.
For the unacquainted, Wordle is a kind of word puzzle which allows you to guess a word in 6 tries. After you type out a five letter word, the letter boxes are highlighted with specific colours to indicate if they are right or wrong. The colours also indicate if the position of the guessed letter is correct. Based on that, you make your subsequent guesses. There are no hints like your crosswords, and the first word you try is pure guess. Quite simple, at the same time, challenging. My favourite is the share feature which allows you to showcase your day’s success on any social platform – quite a neat template with no extra details, just the structure of your guesses.
This game was created by Josh Wardle, a software engineer from Brooklyn. He made it for his wife, who was fond of word games, and he toyed with his last name to term it ‘Wordle’. Wordle started as a private game for two during the pandemic. He then shared it with his family groups, who loved and enjoyed the game. Following this, he released the game worldwide in October 2021. At the start of November, over 90 players had played this game. Today, it has crossed over 3 million. As of today, Mr. Wardle has made zero revenue from it.
The reason for this game’s fame is its simplicity and scarcity. Simple, cause the rules are straight with no twists and turns. No ads or crowded structures to distract you. It seems to be made for the pure joy of playing. Scarce – The USP is the one-game-everyday concept. Your day (or midnight) starts with a game of Wordle. After finishing, you wait for a day to play again. In this day and era, where a game is played multiple times until you hit game fatigue, this word game stands out because you can’t overuse it. It stays fresh.
Puzzles and word games of various types have always had fixed fan followings. In the last couple of years, there has been an addition to this list of enthusiasts. Many experimented and re-discovered hobby games to keep themselves indoors. Board games and online modes of puzzles have risen ever since. So, how long will the ‘Wordle buzz’ continue? It’s hard to tell, but going by its rising popularity, it will take time before it starts to fizz. We are still in the pandemic where we have witnessed lots of unlikely things that have caught on. It could be a recipe or a cuckoo challenge, things have stayed for a while. With Wordle, it’s a fun, daily mental workout and I can see myself religiously play it for atleast another few months!
So, have you got your ‘Wordle’ dose, today?
