🟩 Wordle
Wordle was created by software engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, who loved word games. He released it publicly in October 2021, and by January 2022 it had grown from 90 daily players to over 300,000. The New York Times purchased Wordle in January 2022 for a price reported in the low seven figures. The game's viral spread was driven by its shareable emoji grid — players could post their results without spoiling the answer, creating a global daily ritual. Wordle's design is a masterclass in constraint-based game design. Six guesses, five letters, one word per day — these limitations create a shared experience that connects millions of players worldwide. The color feedback system (green for correct position, yellow for wrong position, gray for not in word) is intuitive yet strategically rich. Choosing the right starting word is itself a subject of intense debate among players, with CRANE, SLATE, AUDIO, and RAISE among the most popular choices based on letter frequency analysis. The game has spawned hundreds of variants: Quordle (four words at once), Wordle Unlimited (play anytime), Nerdle (math equations), Heardle (music), and many more. But the original remains the gold standard — a perfectly balanced daily puzzle that takes about three minutes to play and generates conversation worldwide. Whether you're a casual player or a dedicated optimizer tracking your win streaks, Wordle offers a uniquely satisfying daily mental workout.
How to Play Wordle
🖥️ Desktop
Type a 5-letter word and press Enter to submit your guess. Green tiles mean the letter is correct and in the right position. Yellow tiles mean the letter is in the word but in the wrong position. Gray tiles mean the letter is not in the word at all. Use these clues to narrow down the answer in 6 guesses.
📱 Mobile
Use the on-screen keyboard to type your 5-letter guess and tap Enter. The color feedback works the same way — green is correct position, yellow is wrong position, gray is not in the word. You have 6 attempts to find the hidden word.
Game Features
- ✓Classic 5-letter word guessing with 6 attempts
- ✓Color-coded feedback: green, yellow, and gray tiles
- ✓On-screen keyboard with letter state tracking
- ✓New puzzle available every session
- ✓Hard mode option for extra challenge
Tips & Tricks
- Start with a word that covers common letters: CRANE, SLATE, or AUDIO are popular choices
- Use your second guess to test entirely new letters, not just rearrange yellows
- Pay attention to gray letters — they eliminate many possibilities at once
- Yellow letters must appear in a different position in your next guess
- If you have multiple yellows, try to place them all in new positions simultaneously
Frequently Asked Questions
Who created Wordle?
Wordle was created by Josh Wardle, a software engineer, as a gift for his word-game-loving partner. He released it publicly in October 2021. By January 2022, it had over 300,000 daily players, and the New York Times purchased it for a reported seven-figure sum.
What is the best starting word for Wordle?
There's no single 'best' word, but high-frequency letter coverage is key. Popular choices include CRANE, SLATE, RAISE, and AUDIO. These words cover common vowels and consonants, giving you maximum information from your first guess.
What do the colors mean in Wordle?
Green means the letter is correct and in the right position. Yellow means the letter is in the word but in the wrong position. Gray means the letter does not appear in the word at all. Use these clues together to deduce the answer.
How many possible Wordle answers are there?
The original New York Times Wordle uses a curated list of about 2,309 common 5-letter words as answers, chosen to avoid obscure vocabulary. The full list of valid guesses is much larger — around 10,000+ words.