What is Wordle and why is it so popular? (bonus: tips and alternatives)

There's this one game that seems to have obsessed the whole internet. Everyone is playing and talking about it. Even Google recently added a mini easter egg (a temporary alteration of Google's logo) as a tribute to the game when you search for it. The game that I am talking about is, of course, Wordle.

Wordle has taken the internet by storm in the past few weeks. If you're on social media, you've undoubtedly seen posts where your friends brag about how skilled they are at Wordle. Even various clones of Wordle have appeared in the App Store and in the Google Play Store, presenting themselves as legit copies of the game, trying to make money off of Wordle's success.

Because of how famous Wordle has become, I decided to give it a shot and see if I was going to like it as well. I am not going to lie – I think that I have become addicted to this game too. But let's see what exactly Wordle is, how to play it, and most importantly, how to become the best at Wordle.

What exactly is Wordle?

Wordle is a word game developed by software engineer Josh Wardle that can be played only once a day. The goal of the game is to guess a random five-letter word called "Wordle." The word is different every day, and you have only six tries to guess it. The intriguing part is that the word is the same for everyone, which creates a sense of competitiveness among those trying to solve the puzzle.

What is the reward, you may ask? Well, if you guess the word, you get tremendous satisfaction (speaking from experience) and a chance to show what an out-of-this-world genius you are by sharing your victory with your friends and possible "competitors." If you don't guess the word, you can try guessing the next one on the next day.

Why is Wordle so addictive?

The fear of failure, the knowledge that you only have six attempts to solve the puzzle, and that if you fail, there is no way to try again, are some of the factors making Wordle thrilling and even addictive. In Wordle, every guess counts, so just one mistake may lead to failing that day’s puzzle.

The competitive element mentioned above also plays a role. Having the chance to share and show off your rich vocabulary – or knowledge of game tactics, which we’ll get to in a bit – provides a sense of satisfaction.

Another reason why Wordle is so addictive is that you can only play once a day. Just imagine a box of chocolates. You have the whole box in front of you, but you can only get one chocolate per day. So you eat one, and it tastes great, but now you have to wait until the next day for your next treat. All you think about now is chocolate. It’s kind of the same with Wordle.

So, how to play Wordle?

You can play Wordle by going to Wordle's website: powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/. There is no available app for this game, so you can play Wordle only through your web browser.

The rules of the game are simple. You have to guess a five-letter word in six tries. The color of each tile will change after each guess to illustrate how close you are to guessing. If you have a letter in the right place, the tile for that letter will turn green. If the letter is present in the word but in the wrong place, the tile will turn yellow. A tile for a letter that does not appear in the word will be colored gray.

Tips and tricks to winning Wordle

So, how to become the best at Wordle? Now, this is where it becomes complicated. Every guess in Wordle matters, so you have to choose words that can potentially reveal the most letters, preferably without repeating letters in them. Bear in mind that the secret word may have repeating letters, so one letter may occupy two tiles.

The starting word is the most important word of all. A well-chosen word that can potentially reveal several letters will save you a lot of headaches. A good tactic is to start with words containing some of the most commonly used letters in English: E, A, R, I, O, T, N, S, L, C, U, and D. It would also be very helpful if you start with words containing at least three vowels (“Y” included).

Some people on the internet have concluded that there are several starting words that give you a higher chance of winning. The word "ADIEU" seems to be such a word. Other optimal starting words are "ROATE" and "RAISE." According to Tyler Glaiel, a programmer and game designer, 'ROATE is the mathematically optimal first guess in Wordle,' and "RAISE" is the second-best choice.

Now, I tried each of these three starting words to see if they could truly boost my odds. I made five attempts with every word, and here are the results:

I always succeeded in revealing at least one letter by using "ADIEU," "ROATE," and "RAISE" as starting words, and I never failed to uncover the wordle. Sometimes I even managed to uncover the wordle on my third attempt.

Another good tactic is to use a word with three vowels and then continue with a word containing the other three vowels (remember, "Y" is also included). Of course, it all depends on the wordle, but by following this tactic, you increase your chances of uncovering the word of the day.

The truth is that Wordle is a game that demands a rich vocabulary (or the use of a dictionary), and it is sometimes like a game of Russian roulette. Especially when you're on your sixth attempt, and you're not sure if the word you've picked will be the wordle or will put you in the ground until tomorrow.

Wordle alternatives

You have finished your wordle for the day, and you want more, but you don't want to wait until tomorrow? Don't worry, I've got you covered. Below are three great Wordle alternatives to play until your next "fix" of Wordle.

Hello Wordl

Hello Wordl is basically a free copycat of Wordle. The differences between this and the main game are that Hello Wordl doesn't have the "play it once a day" limit, and you can uncover words that contain between 4 and 11 letters. To play Hello Wordl, go to: hellowordl.net.

Absurdle

If you like challenges, you will definitely like that one. Absurdle is also a Wordle look-alike, but the main difference here is that it has an AI that tries to prevent you from uncovering the secret word. Actually, you won't have a specific word to uncover – not at the beginning, at least. The AI will use your guesses to narrow down its list of words and will change the word if it has to. To add a small level of fairness to the game, in Absurdle, you have unlimited guesses to solve the puzzle.

Visit: qntm.org/files/absurdle/absurdle.html to play Absurdle.

Primel

You are more of a numbers type of guy? Then forget Wordle; Primel is your game. Primel has the same rules as Wordle, but here you have to uncover a five-digit prime number, not a five-letter word. To be even more challenging, Primel accepts only prime numbers for guesses. So, if you want to play Primel, you better be good at math.

To play Primel, visit: converged.yt/primel/