Apparently, whatever else I'm doing, I should drop it and start playing Wordle.
I say this because Wordle seems to be, if not all, at least a lot of what people are talking about right now. Which, considering what's going on in the world, is either incredibly heartening or an indication that we're all delusional.
People, it seems, are all playing Wordle. And talking about playing Wordle. And joking about Wordle. And posting and tweeting and generally going on and on about Wordle. Right now it appears that it's a Wordle, Wordle World.
So, I should definitely jump on the Wordle Wagon (the Wordgon?) and start playing, you know, Wordle. Which I will.
As soon as I figure out what Wordle is.
OK, OK, I kind of know. Wordle is a web-based (two of the scarier words in the English language, which is saying a lot during these times) word game where players have six attempts to guess a five-letter word. Each time you guess, colored tiles let you know if you matched letters and got them in the right position.
A digression, but given my background, if it was five attempts to guess a four-letter word, I'd be the world champ. In my sleep. Wouldn't even need the five guesses. Just a lot of earmuffs for the kids.
Basically, Wordle is the Sudoku of crossword puzzles. Except you can't cheat by using a dictionary or do it in pen just to mess it up for everyone else.
As the legend goes, Wordle is a byproduct of the pandemic, much like masks and gallon jugs of hand sanitizer. However, unlike those things, it's actually supposed to be fun. I say "supposed to be" because anything that reminds you just how limited your vocabulary is may not spark a lot of joy.
Apparently, Wordle was developed by a Welsh-born software engineer (which is odd, because I don't think there is a single word in Welsh that's less than about 27 letters.) for his girlfriend, who was bored during one of the various lockdowns and liked word games. Since the developer just sold the game to the New York Times for what is described as "low seven figures" (if we guess the numbers, do we get green tiles?), he can probably skip the candy and flowers for Valentine's this year.
The game is called Wordle, apparently as a play on the developer's name – Josh Wardle. So Wardle built Wordle. Which is a wittle widiculous. But does help explain what Elmer Fudd went on to do for a living after the Bugs Bunny cartoons.
As the story goes, Wardle built the game for fun and started sharing it, again for enjoyment with no plan to monetize it or put it behind a paywall or use it to influence an election, proving once again he has to be from some place other than the United States.
Part of the allure is only one puzzle appears daily and you only get six chances before it disappears forever. Or, likely to some point in the future because there are only so many five-letter words. Wardle said his goal was to create something that would only take up about three minutes of your time a day. Again, another clear indication that he's not from around here.
As to the rules ... yeah, I don't know. I mean, I tried to explain them earlier, but it didn't make much sense to me then and it still doesn't. Every time someone tried to walk me through it, it seemed like having the rules to a card game explained to you by a 9-year-old who wanted to focus a lot on the elements of the competition that are important to her: how she wins and when we go for ice cream.
Also, it's a little frustrating to struggle with word games when you have, at least at some point in your history, made your living using words. I mean, you'd think I would have taken more from that experience than an abiding hatred for the Oxford comma.
Still, for no other reason than the interesting and somewhat altruistic motivations of the developer (up until that whole "low seven-figure" thing), I really feel like I need to give Wordle a whirl-dle. I mean, worst-dle-case scenario, I realize just how bad I am at guessing five-letter words at the cost of some frustration and three minutes.
And maybe I can develop another game – guessing which four-letter words I'm going to use when I can't solve Wordle. Wouldn't pay to play that, either.