Wordle Explained: Everything You Need to Know About the Viral Word Gameid="article-body" class="row" section="article-body" data-component="trackCWV"> <img class="recommendationCallback" website width="1" height="1" border="0"> <div class="col-2 spacer"></div> <div class="col-1 spacer"></div><b> </b><div class="col-6 article-main-body row" data-component="lazyloadImages"> <b></b> <figure class="image image-large pull-none hasCaption shortcode" section="shortcodeImage"> <span class="imageContainer"><span><img website class="" alt="Wordle" height="729" width="1092"></span></span> <figcaption> <span class="caption"><p>Wordle has sent the internet into a frenzy this year.</p></span><span class="credit"> Sarah Tew/CNET </span> </figcaption> </figure> <p class="speakableTextP1">Unless you've been buried underneath the world's biggest rock, you've probably head of <span class="link" section="shortcodeLink"> /how-to/wordle-archive-how-to-play-the-wordles-you-might-have-missed/ </span>. But what the hell <em>is</em> a Wordle? </p> <p class="speakableTextP2">Spent any time on Twitter recently? Seen all those <span class="link" section="shortcodeLink"> /how-to/wordle-strategies-and-tips-the-best-start-words-to-keep-your-streak/ </span>? Yep, that's Wordle. </p> <figure class="media-source"> <div class="twitterContainer hasImage"> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p lang="en" dir="ltr">Who else is playing ? Addicted. </p>? jimmy fallon (@jimmyfallon) </blockquote> <b> </b> </div> <script type="text/plain" class="optanon-category-5" id="script_twitterwidget" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async></script> <b> <script type="text/plain" class="optanon-category-5"></b><br/> window.CnetFunctions.logWithLabel('%c One Trust ', "Service loaded: script_twitterwidget with class optanon-category-5");<br/> </script> <b> </b></b> </figure><b><h2>What is Wordle?</h2><p>Wordle is a daily word game you can find online . It's fun, simple and, like a crossword, can only be played once a day. Every 24 hours there's a new word of the day, and it's up to you to figure out what it is. The site itself does a fantastic job of explaining the rules:</p> <figure class="image image-large pull-none hasCaption shortcode" section="shortcodeImage"> <span class="imageContainer"><img src="" website class=" lazy" alt="screen-shot-2021-12-21-at-11-34-54-am.png" height="984" width="1092"> <noscript> <img website class="" alt="screen-shot-2021-12-21-at-11-34-54-am.png" height="984" width="1092"> </noscript></span> <figcaption> <span class="caption"><p>This game is so good.</p></span><span class="credit"> Wordle </span> </figcaption> </figure><p>Wordle gives players six chances to guess a randomly selected five-letter word. As shown above, if https://www.click4r.com/posts/g/3753663/mormon-founder-joseph-smith-had-as-many-as-40-wives have the right letter in the right spot, it shows up green. A correct letter in the wrong spot shows up yellow. A letter that isn't in the word in <em>any </em>spot shows up gray. </p><p>You can enter a total of six words, meaning you can enter five burner words from which you can learn hints about the letters and their placements. Then you get one chance to put those hints to use. Or you can try for performance and guess the word of the day in three, two or even one go.</p> <div data-ad="incontent-all-top" data-ad-container="620fc1c0716da" class="ad-incontent-all-top ad-slot "> </div> <p>Simple stuff, but also incredibly compelling. </p><h2>So it's just a word game? Big deal...</h2><p>Yeah, it's just a word game. But it's super popular: Over 300,000 people play it daily, . That popularity may sound perplexing, but there are a few tiny details that have resulted in everyone going absolutely bonkers for it.</p> <div class="newsletter-subscribe-form desktop -inline " section="subscribeNewsletter" data-track="newsletter"> <b> </b> <div class="newsletterTitle "> <b></b> <div class="heading"> <div class="newsletterTitleText"> CNET Culture </div> </div> </div> <i><u> </u></i> <div class="newsletter"> <i><u></u></i> <p class="description">Entertain your brain with the coolest news from streaming to superheroes, memes to video games.</p> <div class="newsletter-subscribe-form_lazy" data-component="lazyloadElement" data-lazyload-element-options=""attribute":null,"src":"\/email\/newsletter\/3757887\/","tracking":"embedded-newsletter-promo-view-3757887""></div> </div> </div><p><strong>There's only one puzzle per day: </strong>This creates a certain level of stakes. You only get one shot at the Wordle. If you mess up, you have to wait until tomorrow to get a brand new puzzle. </p><p><strong>Everyone is playing the exact same puzzle: </strong>This is crucial, as it makes it easier to ping your buddy and chat about the day's puzzle. "Today's was tough!" "How did you get on?" "Did you get it?" Which takes us to the next point...</p><p><strong>It's easy to share your results: </strong>Once you've successfully or unsuccessfully done the puzzle for the day, you're invited to share your Wordle journey for the day. If you tweet the image, it looks like this...</p> <figure class="media-source"> <div class="twitterContainer"> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p lang="en" dir="ltr">?????????????????????????Wordle 184 5/6Started to sweat a bit on this one!</p>? Paul is Happening (@paulpuccio) </blockquote> <u><strong> </strong></u> </div> <script type="text/plain" class="optanon-category-5" id="script_twitterwidget" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async></script> <b> <script type="text/plain" class="optanon-category-5"></b><br/> window.CnetFunctions.logWithLabel('%c One Trust ', "Service loaded: script_twitterwidget with class optanon-category-5");<br/> </script> <strong><u> </u></strong></b> </figure><b><p>Note that the word and letters you chose are obscured. All that's shown is your journey toward the word in a series of yellow, green and gray boxes.</p><p>It's very compelling. If you get it easily, maybe in the second or third try, there's a gloating element whereby you <em>must </em>show your followers how smart you are and share.</p><p>If you get it by the skin of your teeth in the sixth go, that's also a cool story. But most importantly, the puzzle itself isn't spoiled. </p> <div data-ad="incontent-ad-plus-billboard-middle" data-ad-container="620fc1c0716da" class="ad-incontent-ad-plus-billboard-middle ad-slot skybox-inContent" data-disableinitialload="true" data-component="progressiveAd" data-progressive-ad-options=""offset":700"> </div><b> </b> <figure class="media-source"> <b></b> <div class="twitterContainer"> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p lang="en" dir="ltr">OMG IT HAPPENED?????Wordle 184 1/6</p>? Jason Imms ???? (@jasonimms) </blockquote> <u><b> </b></u> </div> <script type="text/plain" class="optanon-category-5" id="script_twitterwidget" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async></script> <b> <script type="text/plain" class="optanon-category-5"></b><br/> window.CnetFunctions.logWithLabel('%c One Trust ', "Service loaded: script_twitterwidget with class optanon-category-5");<br/> </script> <b> </b></b> </figure><b><p>So Wordle isn't just a word game, it's a conversation starter and a chance to show off on social media. That's why it's going viral. </p><h2>Tips and tricks</h2><p>If you're a word game purist, you may want to avoid the following tips and rely entirely on your own instincts. For everyone else who's sick of seeing gray boxes, here are some tips that you may find helpful.</p><p><strong>Choosing your first word:</strong> The first word is arguably the most important. To maximize the value of your opening gambit, choose a word with three vowels and five different letters. Some examples: orate, media, radio. I always use "adieu" for some reason. It's a habit and I'm refusing to break it.</p><p>I just finished reading a fascinating piece by , a programmer and game designer . Apparently we should all be kicking off Wordle with the word "roate." Honestly, read this whole article, it's great.</p><p><strong>Avoid reusing</strong> <strong>grays: </strong>There's a keyboard at the bottom of the Wordle board that shows what letters are green, yellow and gray. Avoid reusing letters that have come up gray. Yes, this sounds obvious. But it can take time and effort to think of five-letter words that don't use letters you've already tried. http://www.chefslink.org/chefslnk/members/lundgren94hansson/activity/41614/ will pay off.</p><p><strong>Letters can appear twice:</strong> This complicates matters, especially when you're running out of letters to try on word four or five. But letters often recur, as with words like chill, sissy and ferry having been the correct answers in the past. </p> <div class="shortcode related-links float_left" section="shortcodeRelatedLinks" data-track="linkstack"> <h3> <span>Wordle, Wordle everywhere</span> </h3> <ul> <li> /how-to/beyond-wordle-best-word-games-in-the-new-york-times/ </li> <li> /how-to/wordle-strategies-and-tips-the-best-start-words-to-keep-your-streak/ </li> <li> /news/dordle-a-new-more-evil-wordle-challenges-you-to-tackle-two-words-at-once/ </li> <strong><u> </u></strong> </ul> </div><h2>Who made Wordle?</h2><p>Wordle is the work of software engineer Josh Wardle, who originally created the game for his partner, a fan of word games, and it will never become laden with ads. Extremely online people may remember Wardle as the creator of Place, an utterly wild collaborative art project/social experiment that sent the internet into a tizzy in April 2017.</p> <div data-ad="incontent-ad-plus-billboard-middle" data-ad-container="620fc1c0716da" class="ad-incontent-ad-plus-billboard-middle ad-slot skybox-inContent" data-disableinitialload="true" data-component="progressiveAd" data-progressive-ad-options=""offset":700"> </div> <p>Place was a shared online space that allowed literally anyone to fight over what was drawn there. It resulted in huge, sprawling communities battling over space on this gigantic online canvas. </p><p>It ultimately ended up looking like this: </p> <figure class="image image-large pull-none hasCaption shortcode" section="shortcodeImage"> <span class="imageContainer"><img src="" website class=" lazy" alt="Image from the online space Place" height="1092" width="1092"> <noscript> <img website class="" alt="Image from the online space Place" height="1092" width="1092"> </noscript></span> <figcaption> <span class="caption"><p>Remember Place? That was a wild time.</p></span><span class="credit"> Reddit </span> </figcaption> </figure><p>Wordle got a mention in The New York Times in November, but really got traction when the share element got added.</p> <figure class="media-source"> <div class="twitterContainer"> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p lang="en" dir="ltr">Added a share button to Wordle that generates a spoiler-free emoji grid for you. Shoutout to for inventing such a cool way to share your results each day.????????????????Wordle 180 3/6Try it out: </p> </blockquote> <strong> </strong> </div> <script type="text/plain" class="optanon-category-5" id="script_twitterwidget" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async></script> <u><b> <script type="text/plain" class="optanon-category-5"></b></u><br/> window.CnetFunctions.logWithLabel('%c One Trust ', "Service loaded: script_twitterwidget with class optanon-category-5");<br/> </script> <u> </u></b></u> </figure><u><b><p>In a Reddit post, Wardle said he wanted Wordle to feel like a croissant, a "delightful snack" that's enjoyed occasionally. This is explicitly why there's only one puzzle per day. http://www.bcsnerie.com/members/zachariassen47lundgren/activity/1425533/ Enjoyed too often," he explained, "and they lose their charm," Wardle says. </p><p>Agreed. </p><h2>Be wary of Wordle clones</h2><p>Following the success of Wordle, app stores have become , so be wary. <span class="link" section="shortcodeLink"> /tech/gaming/apple-pulls-wordle-clones-from-app-store/ </span> from the App store, but who knows, more might pop up. </p><p>Sure, the rules behind Wordle are hardly groundbreaking or original (anyone remember the Mastermind board game?), but if you want to be playing and discussing the same game as everyone else, you need to be on the browser-based game. There is no app. The Wordle you want to be playing can be found at the Power Language site. Anything else using the name "Wordle" is most likely a rip-off. There are even some apps trying to charge money to play. One is even charging a $30 subscription fee. </p><p>Steer clear.</p> <div data-ad="incontent-ad-plus-billboard-middle" data-ad-container="620fc1c0716da" class="ad-incontent-ad-plus-billboard-middle ad-slot skybox-inContent" data-disableinitialload="true" data-component="progressiveAd" data-progressive-ad-options=""offset":700"> </div> <h2>New York Times acquisition</h2><p>At the end of January, creator Josh Wardle <span class="link" section="shortcodeLink"> /news/wordle-has-been-purchased-by-the-new-york-times/ </span> for a figure "in the low seven figures."</p><p>Wardle noted that his "game has gotten bigger than I ever imagined" and added he's "just one person."The game will ultimately become part of New York Times subscription puzzle service, but Wardle made sure that Wordle would remain free-to-play and that current streaks would be preserved in the move.</p><p>"It is important to me that, as Wordle grows, it continues to provide a great experience to everyone," Wardle said. 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