You type in “words” on your first attempt. The “r” is green and everything else is gray. Second try, “farms.” No luck, but then a yellow “e” appears in “their” then it turns green in “berth,” then “verge,” before long you have used all 6 tries – you lost!

Created by Josh Wardle for his family, “Wordle” is a fun and addictive word game released to the public in October 2021. “Wordle” uses a strategy similar to the game “Mastermind,” giving hints based on your guesses to find the word of the day (which is the same for all players) until it is guessed.

Just by hearing about the game, one may assume it would be difficult. Out of all of the five letter words in the English language, “Wordle” picks one each day. “Wordle” uses dark gray tiles on the keyboard to show the letters that you have used but are not a part of the chosen words, yellow tiles to show the letters that are in the word but are in the wrong place and green tiles to show the letters that are both correct and in the right place.

This is what makes the game so addicting, giving the illusion of being tougher than it is, making it even more rewarding to accomplish. This game uses the calming allure of a simple word game, with a challenge of skill to make a game both young and old can enjoy.  

Wordle has grown in popularity to the point where it is hard to not hear about it and it will likely keep growing in popularity as words continue to spread throughout campus. While some may say it’s “great,” and some may say it “sucks,” but all can agree it is very addicting.