Everything you need to know about Wordle; From a romantic gift to a global phenomenon

The last days of 2021 introduced us to a new type of Twitter posts: green, yellow and gray squares arranged in a five-column, up to six-row table. Beside these tables, incomprehensible numbers and a strange word can also be seen: “Wordle”.

Maybe you have already searched about it on Google. It’s not difficult to understand what Wordle is, and once you get to know it, you’ll also understand the code for the squares and numbers that users post on Twitter. Maybe you’ve been playing it yourself consistently for over a year. But what is the characteristic of Wordel that has caused it to be in the center of attention and people are talking about it in the virtual space?

What is Wordel?

Wordle is a word game created by Josh Wardle, a software engineer based in Brooklyn. He was also known earlier for creating interesting social works. In this game, every day Internet users face a new puzzle that they have to solve using elimination and logic, or maybe they can’t!

How to start Wordle?

When you enter the game’s website, you will face a table with five columns and six rows of white squares. Each square can contain one letter. To guess, just type a five-letter word and press Enter.

There are no clues at the beginning, so any five-letter word can be your first guess. This is where the game really begins. After submitting a guess, the color of the squares will change. If it turns green, it means that the letter is present in the word of the day and is placed in its correct place. If it turns yellow, it means that the letter is present in the word, but it is in the wrong place. Finally, if it turns gray, it means that letter is not present in the word. For new visitors, the website provides a visual tutorial that clearly explains these rules. The beauty of Wordel is in its simplicity. The game does not allow you to enter meaningless combinations of letters; Every guess you make is checked against Wordle’s built-in dictionary. If it is not a real word, the game will not accept it.

On the Wordel website, you can click on the gear icon at the top of the page to change a few settings options. The “Dark Theme” option is for those who find the white screen annoying. “Hard Mode” forces any clue you uncover during the game to be used in subsequent guesses. In other words, if in one of your guesses you find a letter or letters that are green or yellow (i.e. they are present in the word), in hard mode you will be obliged to use the same letters in all subsequent guesses and adjust their place based on the information obtained.

There is also a High Contrast Mode option that uses high-contrast colors to be more suitable for people who need it, and finally, by enabling Onscreen Keyboard Input Only, the game ignores physical keyboard inputs and only accepts inputs that are made from the onscreen keyboard. This option is most useful for users who use assistive technologies such as speech recognition software or other accessibility tools.

What is the best word to start with?

There is no set way to start the game but it is better to start with a word that has at least two vowels (O, I, E, A and U) and common letters like S, T, R or N like CRANE or REACT.

Why is Wordel so popular?

Wordle was made available to the public in October 2021 amid the Corona virus as a free daily game that anyone can play online. However, its popularity skyrocketed when Wardell added the “Share” feature to the game in mid-December. This feature allowed players to easily publish their daily performance on social media. This feature is not dependent on any specific platform, but copies the color table as an emoji to the clipboard of your device. Then you can put it on any social network of your choice and publish it.

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What is the reason for all this talk about Wordel?

The reason why, in the last weeks of 2021, a large amount of Wordle posts suddenly appeared in the virtual space, was this sharing feature. Wardell provided a simple way for users to share their achievements with others. But a more fundamental question still remains: Why are people attracted to this game in the first place? The best answer lies in trying it. The game is completely free and does not take much of your time; Just log into the website, make a few guesses, and your day is done. Then you decide whether you want to make it your daily hobby or not. Of course, this is not the only reason.

Wordel’s success is somewhere between The New York Times Crossword and Wheel of Fortune. The hidden word changes every day, but like the New York Times table, it’s the same for all players; Therefore, a common experience is formed among users, even though their path to the answer is different. On the other hand, because the puzzle only contains one five-letter word, it is also simple and accessible to the general public. Another interesting feature of the game is that it can only be played once per day. Therefore, unless the player uses a different browser, he cannot start the game again the same day; This feature also prevents Wordel from becoming an endless addiction

Finally, the clever sharing feature with colored squares allows players to easily show off their success without revealing the answer. Of course, the table of famous emojis was not actually designed by Wardell himself. A user on Twitter proposed this idea and drew Wardell’s attention. Wordel’s combination of simplicity and fun competition quickly won the hearts of players. In just two months after its public release in October 2021, the number of daily users increased from 90 to about 300,000. After The New York Times bought the game from its creator in January 2022, the number of players grew to tens of millions.

Does Wordel have an application for Android or iOS?

Searching for Wordle in the iOS App Store or Google Play Store may yield results, but don’t confuse them with the original version. The real Wardle is the version that Josh Wardle designed and released for free on the internet in late 2021. This game is currently only available on the web and through a browser. If you play it anywhere else, it’s at best a copycat trying to capitalize on someone else’s success.

Where does Wordel come from?

The sudden popularity of Wordel in late 2021 caused the media to pay a lot of attention to its creator. Wardell actually designed the game in 2021 as a personal pastime for himself and his partner, who was very fond of word games. Wardle later became part of their family chats on WhatsApp, and it was there that Wardle felt the game might be special enough to be worth releasing publicly. At one point, it cost him about $100 a month to keep the game online, but he says it’s been worth it. He emphasizes that the purpose of making Wordel was not to make money, but it was considered a romantic gift for his partner.

Meanwhile, Wardell has been repeatedly asked to commercialize or advertise the game. It is also said that Josh Wardell actually tried to make a similar game in 2013. He discussed the idea with a few friends, but eventually shelved it. Until he went to it again during the global pandemic and within a few months, it became a huge success.