A deep dive into The New York Times latest acquisition: Wordle
Today, social media consumers are spoilt for choice of which ways they can spend time on their devices. Many of these options, such as Instagram and Tik Tok have been linked to negative effects on users' mental health. This should not come as a shock to those familiar with these applications, they are designed for users to scroll aimlessly for hours on end comparing themselves to others. That is most definitely not a solution for mental health difficulties. Although many influencers and celebrities have established careers on these social media platforms, there are no tangible benefits from mindlessly browsing social media sites. Luckily for those in search of something a bit less demoralizing, in October 2021, Wordle was created.
At its conception, Wordle was merely a guessing game for the creator and his partner to play when bored during the pandemic. Josh Wardle, the games' creator, is a software engineer who was merely having a bit of fun. He even named the game after his own surname. The premise of the game is "to guess a five-letter word in a similar manner as the guess-the-color game Mastermind. After guessing a five-letter word, the game tells you whether any of your letters are in the secret word and whether they are in the correct place. You have six tries to get it right" (Daniel Victor). After releasing the game to the public two months later, Wardle's creation had hundreds of thousands of players. The simplistic nature of the game attracted new users. It was even more inviting because every player is given the same word, and you are only permitted one game per day. Wordle is the perfect activity for players to truly put their brain on the shelf. There are no followers or likes, just good, clean fun.
This is the reason why I think so many people flocked to it. There are hundreds of games and applications released daily, but Wordle felt like an overnight success. Technically, it was. According to The New York Times, on November 1st there were 90 players and by January there were over 300,000 players, and now millions play. Maybe people wanted an escape from toxic platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok, or maybe society is seriously obsessed with word games. Either way, The New York Times saw this success and did not waste any time. On January 21st, they announced their acquisition of the game, Wordle. Their purchase signifies two things. Firstly, it reinstills the hope of a society willing to log off of social media and partake in some meaningless fun. Secondly, that we must keep our eyes out in the digital game space. Wordle has been a breath of fresh air for social media consumers, and I hope to see more companies take after its light hearted nature.
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God I love Wordle. I think its good fun and its a way for people to be interactive and competitive with one another in a no to low stakes manner. My friends and I have made a group chat specifically for Wordle, I'm not doing too hot... 5th place out of 10. Bottom line, great game for people of all ages.
I agree! I think society is attracted to this game because of its unique traits that are not found in many other games. The fact that it is low maintenance (no followers, no likes) and only allows for one game a day makes it very easy to play. It is easy and fun to share and compare results with friends and family too. With everyone's schedules being so packed, Wordle allows for about 5-10 minutes of easy fun where everyone of all ages can be involved. I would say that it's one of very few games that 8 year-olds and 80 year-olds can have the same fun with!
I've been obsessed with Wordle ever since I was introduced to it. I look forward every morning to the daily Wordle and find it super relaxing to complete. It is honestly crazy how something so simple in nature can be so captivating. Every morning my friends and I send in our groupchat how many guesses it took them to complete and is a sort of little competition of out intellectual ability. As someone who spends too much time on their phone, I don't feel bad when I'm doing the Wordle instead of looking at Coachella photos on Instagram. I think its crazy that Wordle only sold for a million dollars I would have presumed it be a lot more. Great…
I recently got into Wordle, and I think this is a very good description of it! Social media is super easy to get wrapped up in and compare ourselves to other people, but the wordle is the opposite. I love how simple it is and fun--it also feels more stimulating than social media. Also, I had no idea the guy's last name is Wordle... very funny!
As someone who is an avid NYC Mini crossword player, I at first was against the Wordle. I still do not play because I am loyal to my crossword. Though I have seem the amazing affects of this game. Everyone around me is buzzing about it and texting all the time about it. It has built a positive community, which we definitely need in this world. The NYT move to buy it over was 100% the right choice. Considering NYT is known for their many games for people to play, Wordle fits in perfectly.