What is Wordle? This is how you play the latest internet phenomenon
A few simple rules and fun sharing options have made Wordle an internet phenomenon. Learning the game is easy, but being better than your friends is a real challenge. That is how it works.
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Wordle is an internet phenomenon
Every now and then games appear on the internet that have everything they need to go viral. The latest internet game from this category is called Wordle: it’s a game like Lingo that you simply play in your browser.
Thanks to an unprecedented popularity on social media and messaging services, it is already a huge success in the United States and other English-speaking countries. And now Wordle is conquering the Netherlands.
Wordle .’s rules
As mentioned, Wordle is very reminiscent of Lingo. The object of the game is to guess a five-letter word with a maximum of six attempts. The secret word determines the website, which gives three types of clues on each attempt to bring you closer to the solution.
- Each letter guessed in the correct place turns green;
- Any letter that appears in the secret word but is in the wrong place turns yellow;
- Any letter that is not in the secret word turns gray.
Viral Spread
The game isn’t particularly complicated, but it’s spreading around the web at lightning speed. That’s because it’s very accessible and it’s very easy to share your progress.
Accessibility first has to do with the fact that you don’t have to download an app to start guessing, you just go to the website. Second, the pace of the game is nice and slow: Wordle doesn’t require quick reactions, instead you get the chance to guess just one secret word a day. That means that all players on the entire planet are solving the same puzzle, which makes it very funny to share on social media.
So Wordle has already become the hub of WhatsApp chats, Facebook groups and Twitter conversations. Users compete to get to the secret word first.
Once you’ve solved the puzzle of the day, use a button to share your achievement with friends. This is done in the form of a small grid of colored squares (see the image at the top of this article). They describe your progress in the game, without giving clues to the solution. If you accidentally clicked the button, just reload the page.
A game of Wordle may only take a few seconds to a few minutes, but showing that you have solved the puzzle of the day provides a nice extra challenge for thousands of people. This is exactly how the game – which came online months ago but has only recently gone viral – has become so popular. Unfortunately there is no Dutch version yet, but even with only a little English language knowledge it is fine to play.
