News Section Editor: Emma Szabo

Stove. Lowly. Snout. Trope. Fewer. Shawl. Natal. Though seemingly random, this list of words has one thing in common – they are all recent answers to the daily Wordle. Since February, the game has exploded in popularity. Even if you don’t play it, you’re sure to recognize the setup of little gray, yellow, and green squares people post every day. So, what caused the puzzle’s popularity in the first place, and what keeps people playing – even with some new complaints?  

  The premise of the game is simple – you get six tries to guess a five-letter word every day. It was created by Welsh software engineer Josh Wardle as a gift to his wife who loved word games, and after his family enjoyed the game he made it available for public play. The game, which was shared publicly in October 2021, has been free to play online since launch and picked up in popularity in December 2021. With thousands of daily players, Wordle’s explosion in popularity caught the attention of The New York Times, and was bought for an undisclosed amount at the end of January. For many people, playing Wordle has become a part of their daily routine, and has given them something to talk about.

“I have a streak going, and it also makes me feel smart because I’ve always been able to get the word by the end of the day,” Senior Shelby Crowley said. 

  Streaks and game statistics have been one of the biggest reasons Wordle has spread. With the built in option to share how many tries it took to solve the daily puzzle, Wordle trends almost daily on Twitter and other social media sites. The quick and easy way to share your results (which include a link to the game) makes it simple to increase interest in Wordle and also provides players with a spoiler free way to converse. 

“I love being able to share my results with my family. Every day, we send each other our results in a group chat and it gives us something to talk about that night,” Sophomore Cathleen Vasquez said. 

  Despite the game’s beloved status, fans of Wordle have recently been discontent with the word choices; many believing that it’s the fault of The Times. Words with two of the same letter and unusual letters such as ‘u’ or ‘y’ were uncommon before the purchase, and some of the hardest words had previously been things like ‘tapir’ and ‘knoll’. In contrast, the first two words after The New York Times both started with U, something that players had not seen before. Since then, the words will have double letters more often than not, which has left fans disappointed with the apparent change. Despite the feeling that the game has gotten harder, the New York Times claims that they have not changed the difficulty of the game. In an interview with People Magazine, a representative from the Times said that they are continuing to use the predetermined word list created by Wardle before they acquired the game. 

“I feel like it did get harder, but I’m not sure. Maybe it just feels harder because the company changed and not because the words actually changed,” Crowley said. 

 So, why do people still play Wordle? Despite what seems to be dissatisfaction from fans, difficulty doesn’t deter the die-hard players from their newfound day-to-day routine. Instead, player count has shown no significant change and if anything, the idea that Wordle has gotten harder only adds to the conversation surrounding it. The social and sharing aspects are arguably the most important parts in Wordle’s rise to fame, and it ensures that the game isn’t going anywhere for a while. The simplicity and the one-a-day format the puzzle subscribes to is also another reason players come back each day, which is exactly as Wardle intended the game to be played. So while there are many different reasons people choose to start Wordle, most reasons to stay are the same. Wordle’s charm has managed to capture not only the heart of Wardle’s wife, but of the whole world as well.