Wordle took the world by storm in late 2021. Created by Josh Wardle, the game requires players to figure out a random, five letter word by guessing letters. If a letter is not in the word, it turns gray, if it is in the word but in the wrong spot, it turns yellow and if it is in the word and in the correct spot, it turns green. The word refreshes every day, creating a different puzzle. The game is simple, yet addicting, enticing players to come back and figure out the world every day. 

At its core, Wordle’s popularity is due to this simplicity. It is a breath of fresh air from other mobile games, which have become ridden with aggressive microtransactions, pestering ads and irritating push-notifications. All that is required to play is an internet-connected device and an internet browser. Due to this simpleness, Wordle has evolved into something more than a game. It has become a global phenomenon, creating friendships and building communities. When everybody plays the same game, everybody can discuss it. According to The New York Times, over 300,000 people play Wordle a day. 

“I enjoy Wordle because I think Wordle is a fun way to pass time,” senior Grayson Lloyless said. “Wordle is quick, requires me to think and gets my brain going early in the morning.”

A host of spin-offs—games based off of Wordle but with different concepts—have been created due to the game’s popularity. For example, Heardle is basically Wordle but with music instead of words. The game plays the first couple of seconds of a popular song, then subsequently plays longer clips until the player successfully guesses which song it is. There is also Worldle, which is a geography-themed Wordle. The outline of a country is shown, and upon a guess, the distance from the correct country to the guessed country is shown until the correct country is guessed. Furthermore, Nerdle is Wordle but with a math skin, prompting players to successfully fill in an equation. There are even versions of Wordle based on celebrities like Taylor Swift and ‘90s rock band Weezer. Taylordle calls forth players to guess a word based on a piece of Taylor Swift’s music, while Weezle, upon successfully guessing a random word, plays a Weezer song. The possibilities for Worlde spin-offs are endless, and more are sure to come. 

With everything going on in the world right now, like the endless pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Wordle provides a temporary solace. It is nice to have a fun, simple game in these trying times.