Where do I find the daily Wordle game?

By this point in the pandemic, we’re all looking for something pleasant to distract us — even momentarily — from all the chaos, which may explain why the simple, no-frills game Wordle has become so popular. It’s a web-based puzzle that requires players to guess a new five-letter word every day, in six tries or less, and everyone gets the same word. You may have seen people sharing the gray, green, and yellow square patterns on Twitter, which show how they performed on that day’s Wordle without giving away the solution (more on that in a sec).

According to a lovely New York Times profile of Wordle creator and software engineer Josh Wardle (get it?), he devised the game as a gift for his partner Palak Shah, who loves word games and crossword puzzles. The pair apparently got into the NYT Spelling Bee and daily crossword games in 2020, and Wardle wanted to create a new game that Shah would like. The perceived scarcity of the game — only one puzzle per day — leaves the player wanting more.

Where do I find Wordle?

The game is web-based, so there’s no official app to download (although it’s not for lack of trying by a few copycats). You can play using a mobile or desktop browser; just go to www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/. You have until midnight, when the word resets and a new word is there for you to guess. I often start a game, leave the browser tab open, and come back later as I try to figure out the correct word.

How do I play Wordle?

Everyone has their own strategy for how they approach that first blank grid of squares. Choosing a word that has a lot of vowels as your first guess is a solid plan; once you rule out the various vowels, it narrows the word choices significantly (and no, I am not telling you my secret starting word). Type in your word and hit “Enter.”

Letters that are in the word and are in the correct spot will then turn green, letters that are in the word but in a different spot will be yellow, and letters not in the word of the day will be gray. Note that a green or yellow letter can appear in a word more than once — for example, if you get one green “a,” there could be another “a” somewhere else in the word — but you won’t necessarily know that until you play the next word. And no fake words are allowed — the game will throw you a “Not in word list” message if you try to enter AEIOU, for instance.

In the screenshot below, the keyboard shows letters you’ve guessed wrong (in other words, that are not in the word) in dark gray or black and the letters you haven’t guessed yet in light gray. You’ll know you’ve won when all the letters turn green (and a compliment like “Impressive” appears).

That R is in the right place but looks like there are no E’s in today’s Wordle.

Screenshot: Wordle

What are these squares everyone is sharing on Twitter?

Originally, Wardle didn’t create a sharing component for the game, but after seeing users on Twitter sharing their results using green, yellow, and black square emojis, he added a share button that lets you copy your results once you’ve completed the game in a way that won’t give away the day’s word to anyone who hasn’t played it yet. So in the grid below, you can see I guessed completely wrong on the first entry, got two correct letters in the right spots on the second guess, and guessed the word correctly on the third try (not bad!).

Anything else I need to know?

There’s a high contrast “color blind” version and a dark mode available; you can toggle them on using the gear symbol in the upper right corner next to the word WORDLE. If you’re really feeling lucky, you can also toggle on “Hard Mode,” which requires you to include any hints in the next word. For instance, in the first screenshot, in hard mode, I would have to include the R, the T, and the O in my third guess (so RADIO wouldn’t have worked there).

It’s worth noting that this display option can be difficult for those who use screen readers online, such as people who have low vision. Developer Cariad Eccleston, founder of antagonist.app, created a way to make your results accessible (h/t to Liam O’Dell for this tip). Paste the results you copied from the Wordle site into the translator at wa11y.co/, and you’ll get a text description of how you did. Here’s today’s description:

Of course, since we’re on the internet, Wordle’s grids have been meme-ified, repurposed for political messaging, and many brands have tried to get in on the game’s popularity. But Wardle told the BBC he has no plans to include ads on the game and isn’t collecting or otherwise doing anything fishy with anyone’s data.

A nice thing on the internet? We deserve it.

Perhaps you’ve already seen the green, yellow, and gray squares showing up all over your Twitter timeline, but before you continue scrolling, here’s what they mean. In October 2021, software engineer Josh Wardle created and developed a word guessing game for his partner, Palak Shah, who loves word games. With a little play on his name, Wordle was built as a fun little game for the two of them. But Wordle’s audience quickly grew to Wardle’s inner circle when he figured he was on to something. Today, the game is a massive hit on Twitter and shows no sign of slowing down. So, here’s a rundown of where to find and play Wordle, the new puzzle game Twitter loves.

The puzzle game is simple in terms of design and doesn’t have any pop-up banners or ads to get in the way of the fun. In a Jan. 3 interview with The New York Times, Wardle said he believed the non-flashy design is part of what intrigues users. “I think people kind of appreciate that there’s this thing online that’s just fun,” Wardle said. “It’s not trying to do anything shady with your data or your eyeballs. It’s just a game that’s fun.”

The game is totally free to play on Wardle’s website, and solving the daily Wordle puzzles has become routine for many fans. With just a little over three months since debuting to the world, Worlde continues to be the center of the conversation on Twitter as the word game now — after popular demand — has a “share to Twitter feature” that allows users to share their results in a spoil-free way. The new feature was added in mid-December and has resulted in the game increasing by 1764% in mentions since Dec. 23, per Twitter data the company shared with Elite Daily.

So, what exactly is this game that has people so hype that stars like Jimmy Fallon tweeting their results? Here’s what you need to know.

What Is Wordle

Wordle is a daily word guessing game created by Josh Wardle. He created the game as a gift to his partner who loves puzzle games. The concept is simple: try to guess a secret five-letter word in no more than six attempts. As you enter guesses, the game will reveal if you got any of the letters correct to help you out.

Where To Play

Users don’t need to download an app to play. Instead, head straight to your search bar and type “Wordle.” The word game is a once-a-day game that can be played straight from the website Wardle created. Unfortunately, once you’ve played the day’s puzzle, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for another one.

How It Works

Players have six chances to guess a five-letter word. After each guess, the interface will let you know if any of the letters you used are in the word or not by highlighting the letter with a green, yellow, or gray square.

After the six chances are up, that’s it for the day as Wordle sets up a new word each day.

Green square: If the letter is highlighted with a green square, you’re in luck. This means the letter is in the correct place and should be used as a reference when taking the next guess.

Yellow square: Almost there! A yellow square means the letter is in the word but in a different place.

Gray square: Try again! A gray square means the letter is not in the word at all. This may sound like a bad result, but it can also be very valuable information about what the secret word is.

Once you guess the word — or not — you can share your win and frustrations on Twitter by hitting the “share to Twitter” button, which will post your gameplay in a pattern of green, yellow, and gray square emojis.

Where can I find Wordle game?

How do I download daily Wordle?