Wordle: the new once-a-day word game that has the internet in a chokehold. The New York Times, who recently purchased Wordle, say over 300,000 people play daily. The game was created by Josh Wardle in October 2021 for his word-fanatic girlfriend. The objective of Wordle is to guess a random five-letter word in only six tries. The game provides color coded clues to help players find the word of the day. Wordle is currently web-based and does not have an app, which raises the question of why people continue to come back.
“Since Wordle has a new level every day, I feel inclined to come back to see the challenge of the day,” freshman and frequent Wordle player Morgan McCreary said.
The psychological answer comes from British psychologist Lee Chambers in an interview with Big Think, a multimedia web portal which contains a collection of interviews
“The dopamine reward we get as we beat or win the game is blissful,” Chambers said. “Most of the things that we do for pleasure, as well as all of our addictions, are simply for the want of dopamine.”
Wordle generates a new word every day at midnight, leaving players with a comfortable repetitive routine which is pleasant to those who do not need a game to be overly complex.
“I think [Wordle’s] attraction is that it’s a fun game, it takes you a few minutes, to work your way through one of them and then you can be on your way,” English teacher Robert Boerth said. “Generally, you’ve had success, so it gives you that kind of reinforcement.”
The rise of Wordle began on Twitter in January 2022, where players shared their results on the app. It gained popularity amongst the community, and players began bonding over their Wordle wins and losses. Recently, “Puzzle 233” has been trending on Twitter for its difficulty.
“The students were playing [Wordle], and I was aware that they were excited about the game. Some of them started asking me about it.” Boerth said
Wordle has not just caught the attention of Trinity students but also celebrities. “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon even took Wordle on his show. In a recent article with Vanity Fair, public figure Monica Lewinsky shared her love for the game.
“I like Wordle for yet another reason: it’s comforting duality,” Lewinsky said. “I like it for the action and the stasis, the suspense and the sameness.”
In addition to celebrities, fans have been making their own versions of Wordle having the word pertaining to the specific celebrity. For example, “Taylordle” has been becoming viral on TikTok with fans of singer Taylor Swift sharing their results of the word of the day relating to Swift.
Many are beginning to compare Wordle to other popular word games. Eighth grader Allison Williams, who enjoys strategic mind games, compared Wordle to Sudoku.
“I like [Wordle] better because everyone knows different words, but the numbers in Sudoku are harder.” Williams said.
Games come and go, eventually there will be a new game to consume the world’s attention, but Wordle will forever be in the back of our minds remembering the dopamine it gave us.
“I don’t think this will go away anytime soon…it’s gotten enough popularity that it’ll always probably be around as a kind of classic word game.” Boerth said.
