A new word game has become the favorite pastime of many students. Published by the New York Times Company and developed by Josh Wardle, Wordle is a web-based word game in which players are given 6 attempts to guess a mystery word. The word contains 5 letters, and colored tiles are used to indicate the accuracy of the player’s guess. 

Although the game was released in October 2021, Wordle has become a trend in recent weeks. Ayala students and staff share their experiences as Wordle players and provide potential reasons for the game’s sudden surge in popularity. 

“I like Wordle because it makes time go by faster when I’m bored in class,” said senior Brian Kim. “It’s a good quick game to play when I’m done with my work early.” 

Due to its unique qualities, this game seems to be popular among not only students but teachers as well.

“I think for Wordle there’s a strong strategy aspect in addition to having a strong vocabulary, and it’s a relatively short game,” said English teacher Mrs. Yim. “You don’t need commitment to play for a long time.”

Wordle is undoubtedly a popular game that students play to pass time in class – but how exactly did this popularity come to be? 

“I found out about Wordle because everyone on social media was talking about it,” said senior Daniel Lee. “From there, it spread across campus and I gave it a try.” 

Wordle limits players to one game per day – some dislike this limit as they want to keep playing, but others view it as a beneficial aspect of the game. 

“On average, I spend about 3 to 5 minutes a day on Wordle,” said senior Jonah Huh. “I like Wordle because I wouldn’t describe it to be a highly addictive game, as it’s only a daily game. Since there’s only one word per day, players don’t really have a chance to get addicted to the game.”

Practice makes perfect, but this one-game daily limit makes it difficult to keep practicing. With this being said, what is the key to success when it comes to Wordle? 

“I would say Wordle is a combination of both practice and luck,” said Lee. “Some days your starting word can give you lots of letters off the bat, other times it can give you nothing. It is helpful to practice and strategize, though.”

This leads to the question of whether the popularity of Wordle will be sustained, or if it is merely a phase.

“I think Wordle will be a trend for maybe a month,” said Huh. “There’s always more improved and creative games being developed, so it’s inevitable that people will eventually move on from this game.” 

But for the meantime, Wordle seems to be succeeding in attracting players through its simple yet unique features. 

“I think the allure to Wordle is rooted at its simplicity and ability to be shared,” said Lee. “It’s an easy activity to do when you’re bored in class.”

Wordle can be found on the New York Times website and features a new five-letter word each day. https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html