Have you done the Wordle today? Don’t worry, I won’t spoil it. Instead, I’ll give you a tip: Kick off with a word that has a lot of vowels and common consonants in it. Words such as “roate,” “arson,” and “adieu” are commonly used among players. For the past few months, this newfound word game has been the talk of PHS. From sharing colored grids on Twitter to creating memes —  such as John Cusack holding a Wordle grid in replacement of a boombox — Wordle has become a much bigger phenomenon than originally envisioned. 

The goal of the game is quite simple: to guess the five-letter word of the day in, at most, six tries. After entering a guess, each tile will turn into one of three different colors: gray, yellow, or green. Gray means that a letter is not in the word of the day, yellow means the letter is in the word but is in the wrong place, while green means it is both the correct letter and in the right spot. Unlike most current games, Wordle is only available on the web browser, but it can be easier to access if the website is added as a shortcut on your phone’s home screen.

“Wordle is fun… it is a short brain game that anyone can play,” said Jacqueline Zang ‘25, a daily player.  

Josh Wardle, the creator of Wordle, designed this game as a gift to his partner, Palaak Shah, who is a fan of The New York Times’ Spelling Bee and crossword puzzle. Delighted by this act of love, Shah contributed to making this game possible and helped pick out the words she knew (about 2,500) out of roughly 12,000 five-letter words in the English language. However, ever since The Times has bought the game for a “low seven figures,” a great deal of people are disappointed that the words have seemingly gotten more difficult, accusing the newspaper of altering the words, including ones with repeated letters, like the word “rupee.” In response, The Times released a statement explaining that the words have stayed the same and that they are also making improvements along the way to make the game more enjoyable.  

“Some people hate it, some people love it. I do feel like some of the words are harder, but I do enjoy that there is a better variety of words, which is [both] good and bad, because while the better variety makes it more challenging and fun, some people had never heard of the words before. For example, the word “caulk.” That day, everyone was like ‘Is that even a word?’, so it can be a bit harder,” said Gabby Kaputa ’25, who’s played the viral game since January.

The New York Times has recently gained popularity due to its online games, including Wordle. Part of its popularity is due to simplicity, a component that is incredibly appealing to players. However, the public hasn’t always embraced word games the way they do now. That all changed after World War II started and blackouts were widespread throughout New York because the puzzles helped to create a sense of serenity amid the events. 

Many are feeling a similar collective stress during the pandemic as well, and playing Wordle has helped boost people’s moods. Guessing words and sharing ideas with one another has given people a reassuring routine during these uncertain times. 

“It’s a nice puzzle to wake up to each morning, and a fun challenge to see how many guesses it’ll take compared to your friends,” said Henry Langmack ’25, who’s been playing since the new year.  

Wordle is a game many people can play, but it does include its own set of challenges. Since everyone is striving to find the same word, it feels as if players are figuring it out together, despite the independent format of the game. Not only do people appreciate its amusement and shareability, but it has also proven to be great for improving memory and brain health. These advantages have contributed to the increasing amount of attention Wordle has gained in the past few months, to the extent that spin-offs such as Worldle, Octordle, and Taylordle have been created. 

“It is a game that everyone can play, and it’s not easy [since] you want to guess the word in the least tries possible. Also because there is only one word [to guess per] day, it prevents people from becoming bored quickly,” Zang said. 

This puzzle was released in early October, and its popularity has skyrocketed since then. And the reason for this is evident: amidst all the chaos in the world, Wordle provides us with a sense of stability.