Wordle, the viral word game: what is it, how do you play and tricks to impress your friends

The new online word game seems like it’s everywhere these days. Here’s everything you need to know to nail it.

Wordle is simple: You have six chances to guess the day’s secret five-letter word.

What is Wordle?

It’s a once-a-day word game that has gone viral in the past few weeks. It can only be played on a website.

Who brought this on us?

Wordle was created by Josh Wardle, a software engineer based in New York but born in Wales. He created a prototype in 2013 and dusted it off during the pandemic for his partner, who likes playing word games.

How do I play?

Go to the game’s website on your desktop or mobile browser.
The URL is: https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/ Wordle is simple: You have six chances to guess the day’s secret five-letter word. Type in a word as a guess, and the game tells you which letters are or aren’t in the word. The game is free and has no ads. The aim is to figure out the secret word with the fewest guesses.

Any letters that aren’t in the secret word turn grey.

What do the green and yellow squares mean?

When you make a guess in the game, the letter tiles change colours to show how close you are to the secret word. If you guess “weary” and the “W” turns green, that means the secret word starts with a “W”. If the “E” turns yellow, the letter is in the word but not in that spot. Any letters that aren’t in the secret word turn grey.

Why are my Facebook and Twitter timelines a sea of green and yellow squares?

First, sorry about that. It’s part of why the game has gone viral. The creator noticed fans in New Zealand were posting results with coloured boxes they drew themselves. So he made it easier to share the results of the game.

How did Wordle go viral?

Wardle said the game started to take off in mid-November, when technologist Andy Baio put a link to the game in his blog. Wardle then made it easy to share results by posting the green and yellow squares on Facebook, Twitter and texting apps, and the game went viral from there. US The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon has tweeted repeatedly about the game, helping fuel its popularity.

Is there an app?

Nope. It can only be played on the game’s website, and the creator said he doesn’t plan on turning it into an app or trying to make any money out of his creation. But that didn’t stop others from making their own copycat games to cash in on the trend. Bogus Wordle apps filled Apple’s App Store in the past week, rising to the top of the most-downloaded charts. But Apple soon removed those apps.

Avid players typically have a favourite first word they think gets them to the answer fastest.

Can I play more than once daily?

Some players have figured out a way to do that: They use the Wayback Machine, an online internet archive where you can go to Wordle’s website from past days and play old games.

Why is it just once a day?

The once-daily aspect also helped the game go viral. Since everyone in the world gets the same Wordle game at midnight in their time zone, it enables players to talk to each other about how they did and what guesses they made. “It becomes a shared experience,” Wardle said.

How many people are playing?

Some 1.8 million people played on January 7, Wardle said, and it’s continuing to grow, whereas just 90 played on November 1 last year.

I want to become a Wordle whiz. Any tips or tricks?

There’s plenty of debate among fans on the best way to play. Wardle himself said he doesn’t know the best strategy.

“You’re asking the wrong person,” he said. “I’m very bad at it.”

Avid players typically have a favourite first word they think gets them to the answer fastest. Two groups have emerged: those who type in vowel-heavy words first, such as “adieu” or “arose” and those who go after common consonants with words such as “stare”. Some have even created spreadsheets to figure out the most commonly occurring letters in five-letter words. One player determined that those are E, S, A, R and O and opted to use “arose” as his first guess. Others just wing it and type whatever comes to their mind. If you’re looking for strategies, try finding a Wordle Facebook group like WORDLE Friends, where people are sharing tips, tricks and hints.

Are famous people playing it?

Yes. Musician Questlove tweeted Tuesday that he was “legit amped” after solving his first Wordle puzzle. Fallon tweeted in early January to his 51 million followers he was “addicted” to the game. Three days later the comedian tweeted he was “still hooked.” Wardle’s friends sent him Fallon’s tweets. But the creator said he is more impressed by other game developers who have played and tweeted about Wordle.

“I’m not super plugged in to celebrities,” Wardle said. “I know who Jimmy Fallon is. I don’t watch his show or anything like that.”

Anything else I should know?

Yes. Wordle spoofs have popped up. You can try to guess the letter of the day. Or there’s another site for naughtier words if that’s your thing. When you guess the right four-letter word, the site tells you, “I’m sure your mother will be very proud.” The Times reported this week British users were up in arms after the American spelling of “favour” was revealed as an answer – calling for a “steward’s inquiry”. In a rare moment of unity, Australian players joined in their horror at the missing vowel. There was yet more discord when Americans started referring to English as “British English”.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL