Graphic by Raj Brodie
Renee Lu
Arts Reporter
Over the past month, Wordle, a simple online word game, has exploded, becoming the most viral game of 2022 so far. It has even been featured on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Wordle was launched to the public in October of 2021 by creator Josh Wardle, and since then, millions of people have begun to play religiously.
Wordle is a 5 letter guessing game. You get 6 tries to try to guess the word, and after you hit enter you begin to get your clues. A yellow tile will indicate that a letter is in the word, but not in the correct spot. A green tile means that a letter is in the correct spot within the word. There is a single word released every day, and the word is the same for all players.
The New York Times recently purchased Wordle for over $1 million, and there have been speculations that Wordle will not stay free. However, both the creator and the New York Times have reassured that it will stay free for everyone.
Here are some tips for success at Wordle:
- The key to playing Wordle is trying to maximize your first guess. You need to try to get the most popular letters in your first word. Some of the best words to start with are:
audio, earth, train, trace, laser, raise, later, and tears.
- Remember your everyday words. Often the words are simple and in your vocabulary, but because you only have 6 guesses it gets scary when you’re down to your 4th or 5th guess. Just think about the common words and go from there.
- Think about it logically—what letters often go next to each other? What letters next to each other make sense? Think about the vowel combinations—if the middle letter is a vowel, will the first letter really be a vowel too?
Wordle is a great way to start the day, but make sure not to tell anyone because you don’t be the one to spoil someone else’s daily puzzle.
