New word-guessing game has students thinking; Wordle becomes popular globally

    A game that has become a hit sensation for many, Wordle, is sparking up interest at North Harford High School. The game has multiple students hooked. 

   Wordle is a game that requires you to solve a random five letter word in six tries or less. The more words you enter, the more likely you will be able to solve the word since it tells you when you have the correct letters and whether they are in the correct spots or not. Each day, a new word is added for players to guess.  

    According to The New York Times, the game was created by Josh Wardle, a software engineer. Wordle was released during October of last year but started to gain popularity in late 2021 and early 2022. The game is currently owned by The New York Times.

    The game is talked about on multiple social media platforms as well, one of them being TikTok. The Wordle hashtag has over 581 million views on this platform. To play the game, just go to www.nytimes.com/wordle. 

    Junior Samina Dhani says, “I probably started [playing] mid-February [because] I honestly saw everyone else doing it.” She mentions, “I love how it gets you thinking and how it literally can be any word, and I love the anticipation.” Dhani also mentions that she would recommend others to play because it is so much fun. 

    Senior Onie Woodward says, “I started playing like a month or two ago, my English teacher heard about it, and we started playing it in class […] then my boyfriend’s family started to get into it.” She adds, “Now we all kind of play it together and just share how well we do and what we struggle with when the words are harder.”  

    Woodward says, “I enjoy the fact that you really have to think about the word that could fit […] I like that you have to put thought and effort into it and can’t do the easiest words.” She mentions, “I would [recommend it] because I think it’s a great exercise for your brain and it’s fun so it’s a win-win.”  

    Junior Logan Chapman similarly says, “I like that the words that are used aren’t generic. Every word guessing game uses the same recycled words, but Wordle uses more challenging words that really aren’t used in everyday conversation.” Almost everyone Chapman knows plays Wordle, and he would recommend more people to play it.