By: Olivia Miller

“Wordle” is a new daily word game that has become incredibly popular in the last 6 months. The online game that is currently being run by the ‘New York Times’ has taken the nation by storm, and unlike other vocabulary games, has managed to reach players of all ages.

How does this game work? Well, it’s quite simple. Everyday, there is a new five letter word that players have to attempt to guess in six tries. On your first try you guess any random five letter word, and afterwards the game tells you which of the letters in that word are either not in the word, in the word but in the wrong spot, or in the word as well as in the right spot.

With these clues comes a tactic most players use, which is when typing their first guess, trying to include as many vowels as possible. This tactic helps get at least one correct letter in the first try, in turn helping you guess the full word quicker. Some people (like myself) always use the same first word every day, mainly because they think that word is most effective in getting the most letters correct.

There is no explanation for this simple game’s rise to popularity, possibly because there is only one word a day. This causes people to end the round of the day wanting to play more, so they come back the next day, the next day, and so on.

I asked students of Highland Park High School what they think of “Wordle” and here are some of the responses.

“I think it’s fun to compete against your friends to see who can guess it in the least amount of tries” – Mila Hart.

“It’s a game that’s fun but works your brain at the same time… it’s also helped me learn new words I didn’t even know existed.” – anonymous.

This game has become so popular that there have been many spin offs of the game created. These include “Wordle Unlimited”, which name explains itself. Apparently players can’t wait a whole day for another word so an unlimited version of the game has been created.

Another popular spinoff is “Heardle”. This game plays a small clip of a song that you then (like “Wordle”) have to guess in a limited amount of tries. There are tons of more spin-offs that have been created, so if you get sick of “Wordle” you can check out these many other games.