If You're Wondering Why The Heck Everyone Is So Obsessed With Playing Wordle These Days, I Broke Down Exactly Why You Have To Give The Game A Whirl
If you've been on Twitter for the past few weeks, you've most likely stumbled upon a tweet or two full of grey, yellow, and green boxes.
Okay, I get why people are diving into this now.#Wordle 203 4/6🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
And chances are, unless you've played Wordle, you might be just a tad confused.
FOX / giphy.com
Wordle, a web-based word game, has taken the Internet by storm.
The game, which is updated daily, is simple: guess a five-letter word in six tries or less.
Showtime / giphy.com
To help you out, once you try a word, the game will change each tile to either green, meaning the letter is in the word and is in the correct spot; yellow, meaning the letter appears in the word but is not in the correct spot; or grey, meaning the letter doesn't appear anywhere in the word.
While it might look easy, I can confirm that it, in fact, is NOT.
Chelsea Handler / giphy.com
A new game drops every day, and it has truly become a part of my morning routine.
And it looks like I'm not the only one! According to the New York Times, over 300,000 people a day play Wordle.
The Wordle of the day is frequently trending on Twitter, and there's even a whole subreddit devoted to the game full of tips and tricks (and even spoilers!) to boost your Wordle skills.
It helps that the puzzle is the same for everyone every day, which gives the whole thing a community feel, as players frequently take to social media to commiserate about that day's difficulty or brag about how quickly they solved the word.
Not to mention, the game's origin story is just so dang cute!
Ellen / giphy.com
Josh Wardle developed the game because he knew his partner loved word games and wanted to create his own for the two of them to play together. After months of keeping it just between them, he started sharing it with friends and family before the entire world became obsessed. He named it Wordle as a play on his last name.
Now that I've joined the legion of Wordle devotees, I've done some research on some of the ways you can ensure a win nearly every time.
1.Maximize those vowels, baby!
ABC / giphy.com
In a five-letter word, there's bound to be at least one vowel. Using a word with multiple vowels helps you narrow 'em down quickly! Experts suggest using words like "slate," "steam," "tears," "media," "radio," or "their" as a starting point.
Tyler Glaiel, a programmer and game designer, kicked it up a notch and crunched the numbers with a bot that he invented to find that "roate" is truly the ideal starting word.
2.Don't reuse the letters you already know aren't in the word, no matter how tempting it might be.
CBC / giphy.com
I occasionally do this even though I know it's technically wasting precious tries! My thought process is that even if I use a letter that I know isn't in the word, trying that word might mean that I can still get some letter intel out of it, but the experts say this one is a no-no.
3.Plurals are your friend!
Gilmore Girls / giphy.com
While I don't think I've seen a plural yet, trying out words that end in "-s" or "-es" probably couldn't hurt. Even if it's a miss, it'll help ya narrow down some letters!
4.Take the Wheel of Fortune approach.
Wheel of Fortune / giphy.com
The consonants that appear most frequently on Wheel of Fortune are N, R, S, and T. Pair 'em up with some vowels, and you might be on your way to a Wordle win.
5.Don't forget that letters can be used twice.
MTV / giphy.com
Words like "loose" or "chess" are fair game, but the game won't clue you in to the fact that those letters are doubled in that day's word. If you're stumped and think a double could fit, it's definitely worth a shot!
