Hi. I’m Terrie. And I am a Wordle-holic.
If that means nothing to you, you’re probably not on social media. If you are, you’ve seen strange little grids appearing on your feed with yellow, green, and black or white squares and obscure numbers that either annoy or intrigue you. Like me, you may have wondered about the crazy fad. Maybe, like me, you decided you wouldn’t jump on the bandwagon. You didn’t need one more distraction. Only losers waste time on online games, right?
Then my son, typically not a bandwagon on-jumper, started posting his daily Wordle scores. Suddenly, I had to give it a try. You could call it Sudoku for word people. I hate Sudoku. Love Wordle.
Wordle is an online game created by software engineer Josh Wardle of Brooklyn, New York. (Not to be confused with the Josh Wardle of Regina who’s been plagued by media for comment on something with which he had nothing to do.) According to Daniel Victor’s article in the January 3, 2022 issue of The New York Times, Wardle initially created the game for his word game-loving partner, Palak Shah, for the two of them to play. “I wanted to create something I knew she’d enjoy,” he said.
The object is to find the secret five-letter word of the day in six tries or fewer. After you guess the first word, correct letters turn yellow, green if they’re also in the correct spot. Each try must be an actual word. If your guess is not on Wordle’s list, it’s rejected and does not count as a guess. Since the English language has around 12,000 five-letter words, many of which are obscure, Wardle and Shaw reduced their list to around 2,500 words. By releasing only one puzzle a day, this still gives them enough for almost seven years.
After the game expanded to family members who also loved it, Wardle decided to make it available to the public. On its first day last November, ninety people played. Two months later, nearly 300,000 people played. Articles appeared, providing helpful tips and tricks for winning the game as well as words to avoid. Multiple off-shoots have sprung up where you can play with six-letter words, play four or eight games at once, and other variations. There’s a Canadian version called Canuckle, one for music fans called Heardle, a Mennonite option called Nah Yo-dle, and more.
The NY Times has since purchased rights to the original, and I imagine Wardle is financially set for life.
Three characteristics draw people to Wordle. First, you can play only once a day. Scarcity can be attractive. Secondly, the game takes only about three minutes out of your day so isn’t a huge time-waster like many others. Thirdly, because everyone gets the same puzzle on the same day, a sense of community is created. The built-in method of easily sharing your success level provides a way to connect with others. Who doesn’t need more connection these days?
Like any good game, Wordle provides a fine balance between luck and strategy to keep it challenging while still giving you something at which to succeed. Therein, I suspect, lies the addictive properties of this or any game. We crave that pop of endorphins our brains release when we win.
Harmless, though, since you can do only one per day. Right?
Woops. Someone kindly directed me to a site where you can play Wordle’s archived games. Because I began playing the game on Day 220, its archives contained 219 games I had not yet played. I’m trying to limit myself to three a day. I’m sure I can quit whenever I want.
The New Living Translation of Proverbs 18:20 says, “… the right words bring satisfaction.” (How’s that for taking scripture out of context?)
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