Playing Wordle on Retro Devices, Part 2
So. Much. Wordle.
When writing the previous article, I didn’t expect to write a second part, much less this soon, but ports kept on coming and I missed a few ones that were already out as well, so I’ll be covering a few more ports in this part.
So without further ado:
COCOdle (for CoCo3)
The Tandy Color Computer 3 came out in 1986, and while it isn’t as well known as the Commodore 64 or the ZX Spectrum, it still got its own port of Wordle thanks to yggdrasilradio. Note that the repository is called COCOle, and you actually use cocole in order to launch the game, but the game itself is branded COCOdle (and it makes more sense as a name), so I’m calling it that.
I think this one has good word detection, and doesn’t highlight letters more than they appear in the word (which is a problem in a number of ports). When a word isn’t detected as valid it will just clear the row and beep — the only sound this has, actually. It also shows what letters have been used and removed.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the colors working correctly. Instead of highlighting with green and yellow, I get different shades of red, which also applies to other graphics, though it’s still playable on my end.
Wordle NES
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is one of the most popular retro consoles, and it got what’s possibly the best port, with the most bells and whistles, made by Vectrex28, who has also made other NES games, and it shows.
If you stay on the main screen for a little while, you’ll find a cool animation at the bottom in the form of words having a wave-like effect. Then you’ll find a choice between three game modes: Normal, Timed, and Chill. Normal is the 6 tries mode we all know, Timed makes it so on top of that you only have 3 minutes to think in total, and Chill removes the tries and time limitations.
After selecting the game mode you can enter a name for scoring purposes, and then you can choose between 3 songs, only having SFX or complete silence. You’ll find a background with pixel art, a keyboard that mimics physical keys, a dictionary check for words, and no highlight issues that I could find.
This feels like something that could pass off as a retail game for the console, the only “issue” I could find here is that the keyboard is sorted alphabetically rather than using QWERTY, but a lot of NES games used alpha sort, so maybe the author wanted to replicate that.
WÖRD (for MSX)
The MSX was another personal computer from the 80s, developed by ASCII Corporation and Microsoft, and manufactured by several companies — including Sony — and it also got a Wordle port for the MSXdev (an annual contest that has been running since 2003) made by Patrik’s Retro Tech.
This one can be played online for convenience and has English, Spanish, Dutch and Swedish support, but as different ROMs.
WÖRD has no word checker, but it has some pretty nice songs by Blueyakk which will cycle as you finish puzzles; there’s no word checker, but you can use both a keyboard or a joystick to input characters. Grid and on-screen keyboard(OSK) highlights work properly as of version 1.1.
Windle (for Windows 3.1)
Windows 3.1 got a port thanks to Dialup, and it’s not just the game, but the website will make you feel like you were transported to the 90s, back when this version of Windows launched.
You get a word checker, an OSK, and prompts when you win or input an invalid word. You can play as much as you want, the only issue I could note is that this doesn’t like words in plural or past tense (and that it has a pro-Sega bias!), but it works and looks fine, no highlight issues here.
2600 Words (for Atari 2600)
The first home console from Atari wasn’t spared from a Wordle port by Karl G. While the brand itself still exists — and released a Linux-based console last year — most people know and remember it by their old consoles.
The game features a jingle and a simple animated title screen, offers a sequential mode where your stats are recorded, and a random mode, which affects whether the words you get appear in a particular order or not. You can also toggle a hard mode where your next attempts must use already found letters, and the OSK changes color to highlight whether the letter exists in the word. My only gripe is that if it detects a wrong word, you’ll have to delete it manually, and that it doesn’t recognize “atari” as a valid word.
Note that keeping your stats in the original hardware requires a SaveKey.
W O R D L E (for Atari 7800)
The Atari 7800 got itself a Wordle port too, by mksmith. Because the 7800 is backward compatible with most Atari 2600 games, it’s possible that the previous one also runs in this console.
Visuals are simple and functional, and there are sound effects but no music. You can select hard mode and toggle being shown the word in case you fail. The OSK changes to correspond with existing letters, but the game has no checks for word validity, so please don’t cheat. The game can also be played online.
Just like before, you’ll need a SaveKey to keep your score in real hardware.
Wordle (for Atari ST)
After the videogame crash of the 80s, Warner sold the computing division of Atari becoming the Atari Corporation, with their first product being the Atari ST, which can now also enjoy some Wordle thanks to smonson.
This port features no music or stats, but there’s sound when receiving input, you can choose between the daily wordle or a random one. You have a word checker and correct highlighting here, so no cheating and nothing to mislead here.
Note that I couldn’t get Hatari to actually share the date witht he game, so I could only get it to play the first puzzle.
Wrdl-F (for Channel F)
The Fairchild Channel F (F for Fun) not only had a unique controller, it also was the first console to use plug-in based carts. While it may not come in cart form, it has a Wordle port too, made by Arlasoft who has also released several other Channel F and Commodore 64 games.
It features simple graphics, but the colors certainly help make it feel friendly. It doesn’t feature a word check, and it can over-highlight the number of letters, so be careful with that. The game keeps count on how many games you’ve won as the “level” increases, and the score is time-based and forever descending until you go to a new level.
Wordle (for the BBC Micro)
The BBC Micro is another personal computer from the 80s, but still lives in the hearts of many, and it got a Wordle port by Chris Bradburne who has also made a few more games for the BBC Micro.
If you don’t want to set up an emulator, you can play the web version. Text or graphics mode only changes the presentation. This also checks that you are entering a valid word, and gives you statistics of your matches. This also has a seed code that you can use to get a specific puzzle, or challenge someone else, otherwise you can leave it blank to get a random one.
If you have trouble starting when you’re asked if the seed is ok, type “y” before pressing enter.
Wordle GS (for Apple IIGS)
This might not be the first computer people think about when they hear “Apple”, and not much homebrew is made for it nowadays, but there’s still a community of enthusiasts out there, and Wordle got ported to this as well, by Dan Malec.
Simple but functional graphics, word checker, working highlights, stats, and share menu are on offer here. The code is to seed the random words you get in order to compete with your friends, if you know someone rocking a IIGS of course.
Wordle for Sega Megadrive
The Super Nintendo might not have a port (yet), but the Mega Drive does, made by matt-j.
The game features simple but readable graphics with animations, the OSK changes to highlight what letters are available, and the overall design is similar to the official one. The screen does change color when you win, and the pause menu gives you the option to give up and start anew. No issues were found with the dictionary or highlights.
WordleDS (for Nintendo 3/DS/i)
This is the first dual-screen console from Nintendo to use cartridges (otherwise I’d be talking about Mr. Game & Watch). Thanks to Pk11, who also contributed to other 3/DS projects such as Twilight Menu and Universal Update — I don’t need to run emulators to play Wordle in my Nintendo DSi.
Looks-wise it resembles the original, you get the instructions on startup and you start after dismissing it. There are no issues with OSK or grid highlights here, and you have a high contrast mode that changes highlight colors, as well hard mode. You get one puzzle per game that matches with the official one, and it keeps statistics and even gives you a QR with the emoji version of the results.
KIMdle (for KIM-1)
The KIM-1 is one of the oldest single board computers, made by the Commodore Group, back before they were even called that. It’s in this list as it, too, got a Wordle port by the hands of ClassicHasClass.
This is the version with the most compromises I’ve covered, but that’s to be expected due to the limitations of the system. The author actually calls it a “sorta-Wordle” due to the changes they had to make because this is meant to be playable using 7-segments displays. Words were cut to the letters A to F, and then numbers 0,1, and 5 (which double as O, I, and S, respectively), and there won’t be word checks either.
KIMdle will only check the correct words in the correct location, if you guess the word you’ll get “aced”, and if you run out of tries, it’ll give you the word.
Intle (for Intellivision)
Before smart TVs there were… intelligent televisions. Released in the late 70s, the Intellivision was Mattel's only console (besides the failed HyperScan). It got a port thanks to cmadruga, though other people contributed afterwards. Go to the last page to get the last version.
The game has sound effects and simple music that can be toggled with 3, and a hint system you can get with 1 to know a letter (but not its position). Highlights work properly, but there are no stats here.
Wordle 64 (for Nintendo 64)
Now, this has the honor of being the only romhack in this list, as this port is a modification of Super Mario 64 (SM64), made by devwizard.
This one has some poor contrast for the letters (which can be mitigated if you use better video settings than me) due to the colors used, and it’s clunkier to use the glove cursor to select the letters rather than directly going from one letter to the next. That glove will also make you nostalgic if you played SM64 as a kid, and Dire Dire Docks playing in the background just seals the whole deal.
This has a word checker (no Mario here, either☹️), highlight works normally, stats are kept, and you get a word per day although they aren’t synced with the official one.
WORDLE CPC (for Amstrad CPC)
Just like Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum, this 80s personal computer got a Wordle port, made by Arnoldo/leosoft.
This is one of the few ports that support more than just English, and it also allows for using a custom dictionary. It features a hard mode, sound effects, and OSK to show highlights with no issues that I could find. Unfortunately, it doesn’t keep your stats but you can at least play as many times as you want without needing to wait for another day.
Bootle (for x86 Boot Sector)
Basically, Bootle can be what you boot your computer into and was made by Óscar Toledo/nanochess.
Because it’s meant to fit into the boot sector alone, it only takes 512 bytes, and due to the low space it only has 57 words, and no word checker nor statistics, but highlight works properly. If you lose, the word won’t be revealed so you can’t just memorize them.
That said, there’s also a v2 that takes 360 KB (roughly 720 times what v1 takes) that has a 2500 word list, actually checks for validity, and does give you the word in case you fail.
WORDLOS and DOSWORD (for MS-DOS)
WORDLOS was made by CrociDB, who has also worked in other interesting projects like DOOMoji (yes, DOOM rendered with emoji characters), while DOSWORD was made by kokoscript/foxgirl_irl.
WORDLOS has a score that goes up when you win, but losing doesn’t seem to affect it at all, so it’ll just remind you how many times you’ve won in the current session. The OSK highlights existing letters, but the grid itself highlights a given letter more times than it exists in the correct word. The highlight issue is known to the developer, and is a willing trade-off in order to simplify the algorithm, but it’s possible it’ll be fixed in the future. The version tested here is 0.2.
DOSWORD follows the same words as the original, so the answer matches with the real game, and you only get 1 puzzle per game. Rather than having an OSK, the game puts on the right which letters aren’t part of the word, but unfortunately also over-highlights letters, so beware. The graphics are a bit different from the normal game, having a bit of shine and shadows, giving the tiles a bit of a 3d look, and has a small animation when you win.
Wordle 64 and Turdle (for Commodore 64)
Commodore 64 (C64) is loved enough to get a second and third port, but the latter isn’t a straight port. Wordle 64 was made by Havoc, while Turdle is more of a group project.
Wordle 64 changes its border colors randomly when you press backspace, but has no audio or On-Screen Keyboard (OSK) to check used letters. It can also be cheesed as it doesn’t seem to check for word validity, so it’s on your pride and honor to not cheat. It doesn’t over-highlight letters, and also keeps a counter of wins and games to see how good you are doing, but it only lasts the session.
Now Turdle is different from other ports as it changes the theme to the scatological, Turdle seems to be a double portmanteau of both turd + Wordle and turd + turtle, the latter being the mascot of Turdle.
Turdle features music (pretty catchy, too), sound effects, proper highlights, an OSK, but no actual word checks. The game also keeps a score, so you can compete with your friends if you’d like. This one can also be played directly from the browser if you’d prefer to do that.
The ports just keep on coming! Will the trend continue? It’s hard to say, but make sure to keep your eye on SUPERJUMP to find out!
