Wondering what’s up with Wordle?

Wordle is a word-guessing game created by Josh Wardle. During the pandemic, Wardle and his partner became very interested in The New York Times’ word puzzles. Having himself created a prototype of a word game back in 2013, Wardle decided to unearth the project once again.

The rules of Wordle are relatively simple. Players have six tries to guess the correct five-letter word. After each guess, the game provides feedback— a green tile means the letter is in the word and in the right spot, a yellow tile means the letter is in the word but in the wrong spot, and a gray tile means the letter is not in the word at all. If you’re up for an additional challenge, Wordle has a “hard mode,” requiring attempts to include yellow and green letters from previous guesses. The game features one word per day, meaning all players are guessing the same word.

Wordle’s mechanics are very similar to the written game Jotto, which has two players trying to discover the other’s secret five-letter word, and the game show Lingo, where contestants work to find out the chosen five-letter word. All of these games include the process of deduction, narrowing down the possibilities through former guesses.

Although the concept of Wordle was not new, it soared in popularity. It had just 90 players on November 1st of 2021. As of now, the game is estimated to have over 2 million players worldwide. Eventually, Wordle was purchased by The New York Times in January for an undisclosed amount.

The game’s popularity has inspired many copycats. Quordle has players play four Wordle games at once. Heardle gives players six tries to name the song. Mathle requires arranging the correct addition or subtraction problem and its solution. If you’re looking for a short, sweet, and simple brain teaser, Wordle is a fun puzzle for daily play.

Give today’s word a try at https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html.