WTF Is Wordle? Here’s What to Know and How to Play

We know that keeping our brains healhty is important as we continue to age. And much like our heart, lungs, and muscles need to be exercised to maintain health, our brain is the same way. Puzzles are great for that, and one has recently become the internet’s latest obsession. What is Wordle – and how do we play it? Here’s what you need to know.

What is Wordle?

Over the past few weeks, people have been sharing tweets and posts showing a collection of small green and gray boxes. If you’ve come across those but don’t know what it’s all about – that’s Wordle. A free word-guessing game that’s available online.

The objective of the game is to unlock a secret 5-letter word. You only have six attempts to do so and there’s only one puzzle available each day. If you didn’t get it in the first six tries, you have to wait until the next day to try and redeem yourself.

How do you play Wordle?

Wordle is online and there’s no need to buy anything or download an app. People who want to play visit the website and you’re met with the rules on how to play. They’re pretty straightforward, too.

You’re presented with a selection of white squares and you have six tries to guess the letters. “After each guess, the color of the tiles will change to show how close your guess was to the word,” the instructions say.

If your guessed letter turns green, this indicates the letter is correct and it’s in the right spot. If the letter turns yellow, that indicates there is that letter in the word, but it’s in the wrong spot. If the letter turns grey, it’s not in the word in any spot.

Is Wordle actually fun?

The game is harder than it seems at first. You get six tries to guess the word, but there aren’t any hints. We don’t get a category, like Wheel of Fortune, and there’s not a list of words that it could be. But that’s what makes it so fun – it feels impossible, but for anyone who is stubborn, it’s easy to see why it’s grown in popularity. There is an additional toggle that lets you turn it to “hard mode” that levels up the challenge for anyone who really wants to be stumped – or impress everyone if that doesn’t slow them down.

Social media users are obsessed. It’s trending on Twitter not only because it’s a fun game that people can brag about if they don’t find it frustratingly challenging. But it’s also free and there are no ads, no signups needed, just pure fun and joy.

If you want to give Wordle a try, visit the website.