Wordle: The Internet’s Favorite English Teacher
In the last couple of months, yellow, green, and black emoji squares have appeared all over group chats and social media, especially Twitter. This phenomenon is the result of people sharing their Wordle scores, which is the latest trend taking the world by storm. Wordle is a once-a-day web-based word game that gives players six attempts in guessing a five-letter word. After every guess, players receive feedback in the form of colored blocks that indicate whether letters are in the right or wrong spot or not in the word at all.
Josh Wardle, a software engineer in Brooklyn, originally developed Wordle for him and his partner’s enjoyment before making the game public in October 2021. On November 1st, only 90 people played. However, Wordle began gaining traction after the addition of allowing players to share their daily Wordle results with emoji squares. Two months later, Wordle had more than 300,000 players and continues on a steady rise with now millions of active players worldwide. According to Google Trends, searches for Wordle are the most popular in Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In the United States, Wordle is geographically the most relevant in the New England region, particularly Vermont and Massachusetts. Search terms like “5 letter words” and “Wordle answers” have spiked in all regions of the world as well.
Wordle was created by Josh Wardle as a gift to his partner who had an affinity for word games, and as a device to kill time during the Covid-19 pandemic. Unlike most things on the internet, Wordle doesn’t have ads and isn’t using players’ data for profit or exploitative measures. Wordle is so simple yet has garnered an enormous community. Everyone plays the same game once a day and can simultaneously share and discuss their triumphs and grievances. During a time of turmoil, people seek out distractions and appreciate the comfort and daily routine of Wordle.
On January 31, the New York Times announced they acquired Wordle and stated that the game would remain free, which I do believe they will stand by considering the game’s large following. However, because the New York Times does have a business model surrounding subscriptions, I wouldn’t put it past the company not to integrate a hint of promotion some way in the future.
Wordle has become an internet sensation. According to Google Trends, searches for Wordle and corresponding terms continue to rise. The game is so popular, that several alternatives with niche twists have emerged. There’s Taylordle, a version of Wordle made up of words from Taylor Swift lyrics, and Quordle, a version where you solve four Wordles at once. I don’t doubt that more will be created and gain similar enthusiasm.
