It's challenging, it's fun, it's frustrating, and it's free -- for now. The simple word game Wordle has been one of 2022's biggest phenoms -- so big that the New York Times wanted in on that action, so they acquired Wordle for an "unspecified seven-figure sum" and added it to their collection of online games, although for the time being it remains free, outside the NYT paywall and not on their popular mobile app.
The thing about Wordle -- and I'm a huge fan and a daily player -- is that you can only play it once a day. So to help you cope with Wordle Withdrawl every day, many clever game developers have stepped up and created a whole assortment of games based on Wordle, sorta like Wordle, but not -- y'know, the Wordle.
One of my favorites is a geography game called Worldle (note that extra "L" in there) in which the game shows you a black country-shaped blob and you have six guesses to figure out what the heck you're looking at. Now, I've traveled quite a bit, I pay attention to what's happening around the world, and I like to think I have a pretty good idea where various countries are and what they're shaped like. But this thing is hard.
I keep wondering when I'm going to see Italy, or Australia, or any country on this planet that I sort-of recognize by shape, but this game keeps throwing brain-busters like the one above which, in case you didn't know, is Svalbard and Jan Mayen, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. I can't believe you didn't recognize it.
Now here's one that's right up my alley: Heardle, "the daily musical intros game."
As you can see, that was an easy one -- it rook me literally two seconds to ID Madonna's "Like A Virgin." They're not all that easy -- when it gets into Dua Lipa songs, or deep cuts by Hoobastank, things get a little dicey, but if you play around several people of various ages, someone usually knows the song.
Oh, and one more that's a favorite of some people I know, which I wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole because math, is the aptly-named Nerdle, a Wordle-like game that involves numbers instead of words. I don't have a screen shot because I'm never ever playing this game, but if you're a numbers person -- and I know you're all out there -- go for it.
The internet, being what it is, has spawned an ever-growing number of Wordle imitations and permutations. A good place to start if you want to try a few is this story from Woman's Day: 12 Free Online Games Like Wordle to Try if You've Solved Today's Word. They'll link you to an archive of every Wordle game so far, and a bunch of other weird variations on the Wordle formula, including Taylordle, a game that limits itself to Taylor Swift-related words. Now that's a niche audience for a game.
And then there's Mashable's 14 of the best 'Wordle' clones, because one word a day isn't enough. Check this story out for links to clever and creative variations on the formula such as Sweardle, Queerdle, Star Wordle, and for those fluent in Hebrew and Yiddish, Jewdle. For reals. Mazel tov.
Somehow I find it hard to believe that anyone in the USA needs more distractions, more time-wasters, more ways to veg out on the phone, but hey, I'm always up for some idle fun, and maybe you are too. Let me know which one tickles your fancy.