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All About Wordle: The Current Online Sensation

Are you also one of those who is wondering why grey, yellow and green coloured squares with no context are doing the rounds on the internet these days? Well, this is because of a game called Wordle, that has gained quite a grand fan following in just a couple of months because of its basic yet compelling nature.
If you are new to this term, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. Read on to know every detail about this storm named Wordle.

Wordle on mobile
Wordle has taken the internet by storm.
Image Courtesy: gettyimages

What Exactly Is Wordle

Wordle is a word puzzle that is available online. It was developed by Josh Wardle, who is a software engineer by profession. The game can be accessed on the Wordle Website and is absolutely free to play. You can complete just one puzzle in a day and also, it is the same for everyone around the world.
Wordle is a simple word guessing game. The challenge is to figure out the five letter word in six attempts. Every time you guess, the grid shows whether your chosen letters are present in the target word or not and if they are in the right position.
Wordle has a ‘Dark Mode’, which can be applied, if you wish to turn the background black. It also has a feature called ‘Color Blind Mode’, which can be activated if you are colour blind and want high contrast colours.
Wardle created this game for himself and his partner out of boredom. He then made it public in October 2021. In December 2021, the game became quite popular when Wardle introduced a feature for players to share their results as colourful emoji squares.
On Monday 31st January, The New York Times announced that it has acquired Wordle for an unrevealed seven figure price. It also informed that the game would remain free “initially” for all the new and existing gamers and will have no changes.

Wordle grid
A typical Wordle Grid.
Image Courtesy: The New York Times

It is the simplicity of Wordle that has won many hearts. It is an uncomplicated and straightforward game which requires just five minutes of your day at the most. When games nowadays are all about strong graphics, action and annoying advertisements, Wordle has a simple interface, doesn’t run ads and doesn’t cost a dime!
The game is addictive, but it doesn’t consume you or your time since it can be played only once a day. This is what keeps the game fresh and encourages people to play it regularly. Also, spending a little time on Wordle is a fun way to pass time and build vocabulary.
Wordle’s ‘Share’ feature allows other people to see your results on various social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, etc but without disclosing the word of the day to them. This keeps the competition on between players.

People can share their Wordle results in the form of emoji squares, without disclosing the word of the day.
Twitter: Trevor Noah

Wordle Rules Explained

The gameplay is simple, but this not at all means that it is always easy. The general instructions of the game are as follows:

  • The aim of the game is to guess the daily Wordle in six attempts.
  • The guesses have to be made in the form of five letter valid words.
  • The colours of the tile change after each attempt.
  • A grey tile means that the letter is not in the target word.
  • A yellow coloured tile denotes that the letter is right but not in the correct position.
  • A green tile means that both the letter and it’s position are correct.
  • A single letter can appear more than once in the target word.
  • After pressing enter, you cannot undo your attempt.
wordle tiles
The tiles change colour, depending on how close you are to the target word.
Image Courtesy: gettyimages

What Is Hard Mode On Wordle

While many love the game as it is, there are others who are displeased and wish for it to be a little more challenging. Well fret not people, because there is a ‘Hard Mode’ on Wordle that can be turned on or off whenever you want.
When you open Wordle for the first time, it is set to easy mode. To turn on ‘Hard Mode’, click on the settings icon that looks like a gear. Then tap on the hard mode button. When it turns green, it means that the hard mode is enabled. You can easily disable it too.
By now, you already know that the game provides hints in the form of colours to guess the word. Green means the letter is at the right position. Yellow denotes the letter is correct but in the wrong position. And grey means that the letter isn’t there in the target word. You are free to guess any word in the easy mode. But in the hard mode, it gets a little challenging.
In the hard mode, you can begin with any word, but your further guesses get restricted by the hints. Suppose, a person guesses SOUND as his first word and gets yellow coloured tiles for the letters N and D. This means that his subsequent word guesses must contain the letters N and D. His next words can be DANCE or DENSE but not SLOPE.

wordle settings
You can enable Hard Mode by clicking on the settings icon.

Wordle Tips & Tricks

While the game is simple and easy to follow, sometimes you can get stuck. Here are some pointers to help you guess the right word in fewer attempts and faster:

  • Start with a word that has multiple vowels. For example, ABOUT, OUIJA, ADIEU, PEACE, AUDIO, HOUSE, SCARE, TRACE, QUOTE, RAISE, MONEY, ALONE, CHEAT, etc.
  • Start with words that have commonly used consonants like N, R, T, S etc.
  • Do not use the letters that have been greyed out again.
  • Keep in mind that the target word can have the same letter more than once.
  • It is important to note that Wordle uses American English. So words like LABOR, HUMOR, FAVOR, COLOR, RUMOR, HONOR, etc are all correct spellings.
  • Keep an eye on the virtual keyboard to know which letters are used, wrong and remaining.

Hope this article helped and answered all your queries about Wordle.
Happy playing!

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