A word game wave becomes a tsunami
Wordle took off like gangbusters. The New York Times acquired it six months later from originator, Josh Wardle. Why do tens of millions play it daily?
Guessing a five-letter word in six attempts connects people – families kickstart their day with it, others share success on social media and commiserate when stumped. Spreadsheets are popular for tracking streaks, two and three word solves, and number of days played.
Apparently 9AM is the most active time for Wordle players and three cities that can boost most solves on the second guess are Sydney, Melbourne and New York City. Melbourne also holds the record for the longest streak – 961 days.
The NYT takes Wordle seriously. Words have to fit into a strategic business plan – nothing vulgar or derogatory and words must meet North American spelling. Player response is closely monitored through community forums, social media and direct emails. An attempt to use the theme word, FEAST on Thanksgiving was quickly vetoed and the most vocal request is to not make any changes to Wordle.
The ten words that have stumped the most players are Parer, Atone, Coyly, Joker, Jazzy, Catch, Kazoo, Nanny, Mummy and Judge. If you want more than one Wordle game every 24 hours, try Dordle, Quordle or Octordle – eight puzzles to solve in 13 attempts.