The Surprising Success of Wordle: How It Became the Latest Internet Craze

TLDRWordle is a spelling game that has gained immense popularity with millions of players worldwide. It was created by Josh Wardle, a former product manager at Reddit. The game involves guessing a 5-letter word with six attempts, and it provides feedback to improve future guesses. Wordle went viral after adding the emoji feature. The New York Times acquired the game in January 2022. Despite concerns about potential membership fees, it remains free to play for now.

Key insights

🌍Wordle's creator, Josh Wardle, gained prior experience with viral internet sensations through his work at Reddit, which contributed to Wordle's success.

📈Wordle's user base skyrocketed from 90 players in November to 2 million players by mid-January.

📰Wordle received positive reviews from top newspapers, including the New York Times.

📱While there is currently no app version of Wordle, players can download and play it in their browser or by tapping the download button on Android devices.

🌐Wordle has gained international popularity, with third-party variations available in different languages, such as absurdle and Nerdle.

Q&A

Who created Wordle?

—Wordle was created by Josh Wardle, a former product manager at Reddit.

How does Wordle work?

—In Wordle, players have six attempts to guess a 5-letter word. After each guess, they receive feedback on the number of correct letters and their positions.

What contributed to Wordle's popularity?

—Wordle's popularity can be attributed to positive reviews, the addition of the emoji feature, and its availability as a free-to-play browser game.

Is Wordle available as an app?

—Currently, Wordle is only available to play in-browser. However, players can download it by right-clicking on desktop or tapping the download button on Android devices.

Are there variations of Wordle?

—Yes, there are variations of Wordle created by third parties, such as absurdle and Nerdle, which offer different gameplay features and languages.

Timestamped Summary

02:49The New York Times acquired Wordle for an undisclosed figure in the low 7 figures.

02:58Players can download Wordle by right-clicking on desktop or tapping the download button on Android devices.

03:31There are concerns that Wordle may one day become exclusive to members of The New York Times' Games subscription.

03:52Players can play Wordle offline by downloading it from their browser.

04:18Wordle has gained international popularity, with third-party variations available in different languages.

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