By Remy Cush
A new favorite has been cycled into the digital game world craze, despite its simplicity compared to others in the running. Wordle, now owned by New York Times, is a free crossword puzzle-esque game, in which users have six chances to guess the randomly selected word for the day. If a correct letter is used but not placed in the correct spot, the square will appear yellow. Letters that are placed in their correct spot will appear green, and letters not used in the daily word will be gray. Players can only try one time each day, and a new word is reset every 24-hours.
The allure of the modest Wordle is mostly obtained from its exclusive time frame, and universal struggle to guess the word correctly within the six given chances. These are key characteristics that have helped gain the massive following of Wordle, which reached around 2 million players in early January (The Guardian). Although the 24 hour time frame may seem like a helpful tool, having a whole day available for users disposal to plan out a winning strategy, there is almost too much time to dwindle on possible answers and also the inevitable wait for the next daily word. The accessibility of the game and its ease of sharing players Wordle-scape with friends makes it a universal journey.
Despite the games success, there is some speculation regarding New York Times purchasing of Wordle, mainly circulating around its effect on the words that have been generated. Originally created by Brooklyn based software engineer Josh Wardle, the game was launched early October, but started gaining a bulk of its following in December. New York Times, according to Wardle, bought the game for a “low seven figures,” which can be seen as a success for the unassuming engineer, as he primarily made the game to fulfill his love for crossword puzzles (The New York Times). Wordle fans expressed their regrets surrounding the agreement, a majority highlighting the visible contrast in difficulty of words following the buy-out. The apparent difference being that New York Times has upped the vocabulary necessary to confidently win the game, discouraging some of the fan-base from continuing their love from the game.
Keeping critics complaints in mind, there seems to be no end in sight of Wordles reign. The simplicity makes it appealing and available to almost all ages alongside the addictive excitement and suspense that is constantly fed daily.
Click the link below to try out today’s Wordle.
