What is Wordle?

Wordle is a free word game where players have six tries to guess a five-letter word. Played online, the game releases a new word every day and players have six tries to correctly guess that word. When a player accurately guess a letter in the right spot, it will turn green. If the letter is in the word but not in the right place, it will turn yellow. Any letters that are not in the word will turn gray.

Who created Wordle?

Josh Wardle, a software engineer, originally created the hit word game for his partner after the pair got into the New York Times Spelling Bee game and daily crossword puzzle. He later sent the game to his family and it was a hit.

In October 2021, Wardle released Wordle to the public. Currently, millions play Wordle each day, according to the New York Times. On Jan. 31, Wardle sold the game to the New York Times.

Will we have to pay for Wordle under the New York Times?

According to the New York Times, “When the game moves to The New York Times, Wordle will be free to play for new and existing players, and no changes will be made to its gameplay.”

Is there a best first word?

The key to getting the word of the day in the fewest guesses possible is a good starter word.
Alex Selby, a mathematician from Cambridge university, made an algorithm to find the starting word that requires the fewest guesses.

Selby said the word SALET (a type of medieval helmet) was the best starting word, and that players on average would arrive at the answer with a total of 3.4 guesses.

Charles Yang, a University of Pennsylvania professor of linguistics and computer and information science, arrived at TRACE.

However, many players like to go with their own guesses. A good strategy tends to be picking words with the most vowels possible and choosing words with other common letters in the English language.

Why is Wordle so popular?

Wordle can only be played once a day. Whether or not players get the word right in the six guesses, the word is revealed and players have to wait until the next day to try again. Another draw of the game is the easy way to share results. The green, yellow and black box emojis show Wordle results in an eye-catching and spoiler-free way.

Katy Pearce, associate professor of communication at the University of Washington, suggested Wordle’s ease of use, delayed gratification and waiting period contributes to its popularity, and gives people a greater sense of accomplishment if they guess the word of the day.

Wordle is currently free and can be played at: https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/