The free online game Wordle has recently taken over the internet, gaining nearly three million players since its release in Oct. 2021. A Morning Consult survey conducted on Jan. 12 and 14 shows that 18% of Gen Zers play Wordle, and many of these include Aragon students.
Freshman Dom Kudzia plays the game every day.
“It definitely gets people talking [to each other],” Kudzia said. “[If] there are people that have never talked to you before, you can strike up a conversation easily about [Wordle].”
Wordle is a word puzzle that was created by software engineer Josh Wardle. In this game, a player has six tries to guess a five-letter word. When a player makes a guess, the color of that letter indicates how accurate the guess is. Gray indicates that the given letter is not in the word, yellow indicates that the letter is in the word but not in the right position and green indicates that the letter is correct and also in the correct position.
“It challenges me to think more,” said freshman Alessandra Sophia Hernandez. “A lot of people are trying to do different tricks and hacks to get the best possibility for their answers.”
Wardle’s partner, Palak Shah, has a passion for word games, a major reason as to why he decided to create a word game for them, using his own name eponymously in the title. But after Wardle introduced it to his relatives, it quickly became an obsession in his family’s WhatsApp group. Thus, he decided to release it to the rest of the world. A few months later, the game reached 300 thousand people.
“I think what makes it so successful is that you can only play once per day,” Kudzia said. “You keep coming back to play it again. Secondly, it’s free and anybody can do it. It’s [also] quick. People can put it down, pick it back up and you only have six tries [in all, so] it’s pretty time sensitive.”
Freshman Medha Rakesh echoed this sentiment.
“You need to come back for more,” Rakesh said.
The fact that the game can only be played once a day creates a sense of scarcity, which Wardle said was partially inspired by the New York Times Spelling Bee.
“People are always playing it together. It’s good [for] getting people to hang out with each other and connect over something that they all enjoy”
It’s not often that people stumble upon a game as simple and straightforward as Wordle. Wardle created the game himself as a side project, and there are no ads or flashing banners. In an interview with the New York Times, Wardle stated that people can appreciate that the game doesn’t try to do anything shady with players’ data or eyeball; it’s just a fun game.
Word games date back to the ancient Romans, the first one being the Sator Square. Sator Square persisted and gained popularity throughout the Middle Ages. By the Victorian Era, crossword puzzles were invented. Word games aren’t just a way to occupy time, but they’re also enjoyable and can expand people’s vocabulary and language skills. Word games are also accessible and easy to understand.
One of the major reasons for Wordle’s popularity is social media, which has been a big part of blowing up games in the past. Wordle has an easy sharing feature where players can post their guess grids to others.
“The share feature where you can share your scores and times with other players [is a factor for Wordle’s fast growth],” Kudzia said.
People can also discuss the day’s word and the best strategies on social media platforms, enticing more to try the game.
“I saw ads and [heard] people talking about the game so I searched it up and started playing it,” Rakesh said.
Celebrities and social media influencers who play the game may convince viewers to give it a try too.
“Jimmy Fallon had [one of] his YouTube video on playing Wordle,” Rakesh said. “That’s probably why Wordle has gained so much popularity.”
Wordle can be an easy way to bond with others, as seen in the Aragon community.
“Everyone’s enjoying themselves, and we’re getting competitive,” Hernandez said.
During rehearsals for the upcoming musical “Legally Blonde,” many students bonded over the game.
“People are always playing it together,” Hernandez said. “It’s good [for] getting people to hang out with each other and connect over something that they all enjoy.”
From hardcore players who try to guess the word in three tries to occasional players who open the game once in a while, Wordle brings people together through intellectual challenges and social connections.
