Wordle is a fun (& sometimes hard) word puzzle game that you can play once a day. Curious to know why is Wordle so popular & viral? Read on!
Why is Wordle so popular and trending online in 2022? Here are some of the major reasons why. If you have been on Twitter (or anywhere on the internet, really) in January 2022, then you have heard of Wordle, the viral online word puzzle game. Created by Josh Wardle (yes, the name Wordle comes from his last name), this browser game has given him the opportunity to earn more than $1 million because the New York Times acquired it. Let’s take a deeper look at all the reasons why Wordle is so famous and became viral this year.
No fancy PC specs or high-end smartphones are required. All you have to do is visit the official site of Wordle and immediately start playing. In today’s world where many games are complicated and intensely competitive, Wordle gives you a sense of relief because it’s not timed. Play it at your own convenience, think and guess the word in six tries. You can also add the browser link to your iPhone and get to the puzzle with one tap of your finger. Simple is good – simple works.
Adding to the reason for easy accessibility is the easy-to-understand format and rules of the game. You guess a random 5 letter word and the game gives you a hint of whether the letters were in the right spot or not. The number of letters is also perfect because 6 letter words can be tough and 4 letter words are too easy. 5 is the sweet spot.
And speaking of hints that the game gives, the rules can be explained in 3 lines. If the letter is in the right place, the block will turn green. If the letter exists in the word, but it’s NOT in the right spot, it will be yellow. And if the letter isn’t in the word at all, it will be grey. With this information, you need to type in your next guess and eventually attempt to guess the final word of the day in the fewest tries. And the best part is that the keyboard also shows the letter hints which helps you visualize quite a bit.
In most games and apps, we are constantly bombarded with multiple notifications, which makes the novelty wear off. Wordle knew this and this is where it hit the bullseye. Due to the fact that you can only play Wordle once a day (on the official website), people are excited to wake up and try to solve it daily. Plus, the game also saves your streaks.
It has somehow become a ritual for millions of players, as evident by the Wordle scores that are being shared on Twitter. Although, if you feel that you missed out on months of Wordles to solve, don’t worry. Here’s how to play previous Wordles without changing the date and time of your device.
Everyone has the same word to guess for the day and if you manage to guess in the first or second attempt, you get the most bragging rights! Even more if you did it by playing the Hard Mode. Due to the massive number of shares that players did on Twitter, people who hadn’t even heard of the game were surprised to see the ‘no spoiler results’ in their feed. “What are the colored blocks?” they wondered and then were led to this wonderful game, only to get addicted to it. The mystery element surely brought in more players to the site.
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Josh Wardle has said in an interview that “It’s not trying to do anything shady with your data or your eyeballs. It’s just a game that’s fun” and that’s rare to see these days. The original idea of this game was for Josh to keep his partner Palak Shah entertained during the pandemic which is why it didn’t have any annoying ads, banners, and data tracking stuff. You don’t have to add your email address, create an account, make a password – nothing. It is a word game and stays purely that. It’s also a love story that resonated with players online, giving it even more fame.
Now, it has become a way to show off your vocabulary and word guessing skills. But it’s also a bonding activity that every member of the family, group of friends, and office colleagues can participate in. And that’s amazing.
These were my observations and personal opinion about why Wordle is so popular and viral in 2022. Now that NYT has purchased it, let’s see what happens next. Will it stay trendy or will it disappear like other viral content? Let’s wait and watch.