I first heard about Wordle three weeks ago. There were bits of news about its sale to "The New York Times" so I investigated. It turns out that Wordle is a very simple word game. You have six opportunities to guess the word of the day though of course your powers of deduction come into play. Finding the answer is not entirely guesswork. To me it provides a useful bit of mental exercise. Completing a game never takes more than ten minutes.
I have played 18 games so far and I am proud to announce that I have a 1oo% success record. Eight of my correct answers came on the fourth guess, eight on the fifth guess and two on the sixth guess.
Below, a Wordle game has just begun. The first guess was "PEACE". The player knows that the letters A and C will be present in the word of the day but not in those positions. Through the second guess - "CARRY", the player knows that the second letter now presented in green is definitely "A" but the answer will not contain an "R" or a "Y" - nor an "E" or a "P". The cogs in the player's mind are turning. He or she is already making intelligent deductions but will they reach the answer by the sixth line?
By the way, on this occasion the word was "TACIT"...
If you fancy playing Wordle - go here - and good luck to you!
I like Wordle because it is a problem solving game which stretches my brain a bit. Without realizing it, I play in hard mode. I have lost a few times but rarely. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to search the files in one's brain for possible words
DeleteAnd everyone here is complaining about that word. Well, not everyone, but …. Saying that they don’t know what that word is , never heard of it and that words are getting harder since NYT bought the game. WTF? We have already dummed down our schools and everything else, should we now dumb down our games that intelligent people enjoy playing?? What a bunch of crap!!!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy this every morning with my coffee. Been playing for about the same amount of time as you , my brother. Haven’t kept count but know of two with four guesses, one with two guesses and the rest three or six. Haven’t missed one yet but that time will come. Especially if they keep including words nobody ever heard of such as the tacit! Duh!
Look up in the top right hand corner and click on that boxy icon. Your score history should be revealed.
DeleteI got it on two today and was informed that my efforts were "magnificent."
ReplyDeleteRight.
But it's fun.
Did it in two! Wow! That is good going you magnificent woman!
DeleteLove it! It's my daily mental stimulation.
ReplyDeleteHi there Helen! Glad you like it too. Maybe it was designed for we retired folk.
DeleteI find Wordle fun and not to challenging.
ReplyDeleteSo it has reached Red Deer too! That is great.
DeleteI'm enjoying wordle at the moment, despite my previous claims that I wasn't going to take up another time waster!
ReplyDeleteI have failed miserably on a few but i did well today!
Kylie
As they used to say in school... "Could do better!" Kylie.
DeleteIt's not for me, far too much quick thinking involved.
ReplyDeleteGive it a go River Lady. Join the Wordle cult.
DeleteOh god, you too. I looked at it for thirty seconds and it was not immediately obvious to me as to how to play. I am a retired person and only have limited time in my life for such things.
ReplyDeleteI realise that your appointments diary is always crammed. Perhaps the shadowy "R" can have a go at it. It's easy to do.
DeleteMy daughter told me about this and I started playing it about 10 days ago. Like you, I've had a 100% success and I've even managed three times to get the word on the 3rd line I find it's the first thing I turn to each day on my smartphone so I guess I'm getting hooked, but, as you say, it is good for the old grey cells.
ReplyDeleteThird guesses! But then you are language person aren't you ADDY!
DeleteThanks for the link. I have just tried it out. Took me four attempts. Must try harder.
ReplyDeleteFour attempts is good - especially for your first go. There'll be another one to do tomorrow.
DeleteWe all have our own 'methods' to get to the answer in six, but I don't use words with two letters the same to start and never believe that a yellow highlight means there could well be an OTHER. As it is relatively new to me and very popular, I suppose that soon there will be a cost involved like an advert! CYNIC.
ReplyDeleteI fear that too Potty. Surely The NYT will soon be asking us to subscribe.
DeleteHi, I saw your comment on Tasker's blog. Wordle I noticed via Rachel - and the German version is ok and I like it - the limited chance (only one per day) stimulates the effort. Mine at least :-)
ReplyDeleteWelcome here Britta and best of luck with future Wordles!
DeleteI have played it for several weeks now. Always managed to solve it, mostly in 4 tries.
ReplyDeleteHave you watched " Lingo" on TV? ( afternoons 3pm) I usually watch the last half after the dog walk.The presenter is really annoying though as he speaks v e r y s l o w l y!! It often has me yelling at the screen when they have got 4 letters correct and just need one that they can't think of! That sometimes happens on Wordle too......you have a choice of about 3/4 letters to complete...which one to try first!
Actually "Lingo" seems very much like Wordle doesn't it Frances?
DeleteI've heard about it on the radio, and they said that there is a "rude" version of the game, too - not appropriate for children, but good for learning English! (The radio moderator's words, not mine.)
ReplyDeleteIt does not surprise me in the least that you have a 100 % success rate with this.
As you are more fluent in English than many native speakers, I think you might also enjoy Wordle Meike.
DeletePlaying happily. Yes is is fairly simple and I also got it every time. Guess the challenger word, and didn't two same letters happen last week? Dodge, cynic and skill. The word 'caulk' was too hard for millennials. I suspect us oldies with a lot of reading over the years have at least a fine edge on them ;)
ReplyDeleteIt is amusing that some players have got angry about the words. More than one of them claimed that "SWILL" was just a made-up word!
DeleteNot for me. I have no patience for playing cards either. Each to their own.
ReplyDeleteYou could give it a try Dave! You never know - you might enjoy it!
DeleteI've now played over 40 games. It's become a favourite part of my morning routine. I was very lucky this morning and got it in two. Wordle declared me magnificent! My first, and probably only, compliment of the day.
ReplyDeleteYou are wrong Melinda for here's another compliment coming up. You are indeed "magnificent" for finding the solution with only your second guess!
DeleteI've been playing for about the same length of time though I rarely get done in ten minutes. It is more like double that for me. But then, my record is a little better too with half my correct attempts happening in four and the other half split evenly between 3 guesses and 5 guesses. I think I have only 1 time where I used all six tries.
ReplyDeleteMy first word has been TRADE due to the common letters. If nothing hits there I do LIONS for my second attempt. Usually between those two, I'm well on my way for my third guess.
That tactic is sensible. Of course it is important not to reuse letters that have already been deemed absent. I think that some players don't quite get that.
ReplyDeleteI have been guilty of using letters known to be the wrong ones but I only do that if I just can't think of a word that fits the known pattern. The goal of course is to get some more known letters or known locations that might spark the memory of a word. TACIT was one of those times and why it took me a rare six tries to get it.
DeleteI found Wordle about a month ago. I missed the first one as I was 'learning the ropes'. Won the rest since. The frustrating ones are those that turn out to have a double letter. Otherwise I save my daily Wordle as a treat. Enjoy...
ReplyDeleteYes. You always have to keep that possibility of a repeated letter in mind.
DeleteHa! I had a post about Wordle just the other day! I usually start off with the word "train" and go from there. I got "tacit" on the third guess. I've only not gotten the word one time, and that was when it came down to one letter missing that could have been several choices. I picked the wrong one.
ReplyDeleteAnd as to Ed's speculation on my blog on what happens if one loses, my devise did not blow up.
It's a friendly game and there's no point in cheating. It's nice to see the green letters jump up and down when you have found the answer. Yaaaay!
DeleteDevise: to form in the mind, to contrive, to invent.
DeleteA computer or laptop, i-phone etc is a device, with a "c"
I also spotted that River but we all make mistaches.
DeleteWe play this game every day, and it seems that everyone else does too. It is amazing that so simple a game has gripped the English-speaking world!
ReplyDeleteWonderful blog post about Wordle games! This word puzzle has recently become my obsession, and I can't get enough of it. Wordle's ability to test your knowledge and reasoning skills is really addictive.
ReplyDelete5 Letter Words with These Letters