It’s all over the news. You might even be sick of hearing about it by now. Just one word: Wordle. Well, actually up to six words. Five-letter words. But only one word wins. A different word every day, the same word for everyone. In the world. Free. (For now.) And you can only play once a day. If you lose, you can’t try again.
Guilty, because I jumped on the bandwagon…EVERYONE is playing Wordle.
Pleasure, because I love it, and it’s sneakier than it looks.
In fact, since the NYT bought it for an undisclosed amount in the low seven figures from Josh Wardle, a software engineer who had developed it for his partner, Wordlers—that’s what we call ourselves—are complaining that it’s become harder. It’s not harder, it’s just maybe a bit trickier.
The best part about it is that I now play every morning with most of my family. Which is also the worst part about it…I don’t have time for that! But we’re addicted…and it’s a great way to keep in touch. Other topics enter the crazy stream of messages, our personalities come through, we laugh and joke and emoji and gif all over the place. But we never drop hints or risk spoilers before everyone has finished. Which can take forever.
In a word: Adore. Hmmm, that’s actually a good starter word, think I’ll try it tomorrow!
Guilty as charged, your honor!
Barbara BucklesArtist, writer, storyteller, spy. Okay, not a spy…I was just going for the rhythm.
I call myself “an inveterate dabbler.” (And my husband calls me “an invertebrate babbler.”) I just love to create one way or another. My latest passion is telling true stories live, on stage. Because it scares the hell out of me.
As a memoirist, I focus on the undercurrents. Drawing from memory, diaries, notes, letters and photographs, I never ever lie, but I do claim creative license when fleshing out actual events in order to enhance the literary quality, i.e., what I might have been wearing, what might have been on the table, what season it might have been. By virtue of its genre, memoir also adds a patina of introspection and insight that most probably did not exist in real time.
Great Flash Bebe!
Altho I love Scrabble and crossword puzzles and Words With Friends, I haven’t jumped on the Wordle bandwagon yet – I think I waste enough time on FB, but it is tempting!
Will keep you posted!
I’m with you, Barb. When our 15-year-old granddaughter was doing it and getting right answers in 3 tries, how could we resist? My husband and I do it together. He’s the puzzler, but I’m proud of how many times I’ve guessed the answer before he thought of it. Truly a guilty pleasure!
Barb, as you’ll see when you read my story, the last paragraph is about Wordle, which I love. I’ve been playing for a couple of months, and even got my husband to start, so now we have a friendly competition. Haven’t played yet today, and I certainly hope that AROMA isn’t today’s word.
I have been resisting joining the wordle train, but it is clearly addicting. Stuck with the lowly jumble and spelling bee and sudoku crowd. Your enthusiasm is inspiring—how much longer can I hold out?
I am guilty, too, Barb. This game is addictive, and I play (solo) daily. What I didn’t realize is that I was intuitively playing the “hard” rules without realizing it, so I give myself extra credit. I’m glad you can play just once a day because heaven knows how much time I’d spend on it otherwise.
Between yout and Suzy, Barb, I’m going to have to at least dip my toe in Wordle. It is clearly a thing. (And this even though Trump says he plays it, too. Of course, Trump also says he’s worth $0 billion.) But, for now, I will try to just stick with Spelling Bee and maybe convince myself I actually have a life.
I doubt Trump plays it, you have to know five-letter words.
This was fun–and so is Wordle. But what part of this activity makes you feel guilty? It seems a pleasure without negative repercussions, at least until the NYT starts charging for it.
Yes Barb, everyone seems to be playing it or talking about it, except me. I don’t see patterns in letters, so don’t do word puzzles, but Wordle is everywhere and your Flash is great! Dan thought he had downloaded it but got a rip-off that made strange sounds. While babysitting on Saturday night, the other grandmother showed him the correct one, how to get started and how to play. Now, perhaps he will be an addict too.