Piecing Together the Words: How the popular game “Wordle” provides a set routine to start each day

A month ago, I wouldn’t have believed that “Wordle” was a real word.

Now, I can’t go a day without hearing “Have you gotten the Wordle?” in the halls. 

The first time I heard of Wordle was a few weeks ago in a TikTok advising the best starting words. The next day, my friend begged me to play. Now, I’m a self-proclaimed Wordle addict and love starting each day with the friendly competition.

Wordle started as a game that Josh Wardel made as a pastime for his wife who loved games. Since then, it’s gained immense popularity throughout all age groups. It’s a short game consisting of six guesses to get the “word of the day.” A correct guess for a letter in the right spot turns green, and a partially-correct guess of a letter that’s in the word but not in the right position turns the tile yellow. It takes lots of thought and guessing to get the word correct. The unique problem-solving aspect of the game makes it quite the puzzle. 

I appreciate the educational aspect of Wordle and so do my teachers. It doesn’t feel like I’m playing a mindless game or endlessly scrolling through social media when I’m cracking the code on the Wordle. Instead, I’m working through where each letter can and can’t go, which words make sense, which don’t and most importantly, how I can use my six guesses wisely. I love that I have to think it through and exercise my critical thinking — a rarity in online games.

I’ve always loved having structure in my day, but as I’ve gotten older my schedule has begun to change more often and I can no longer expect the same structure every day. Recently, doing the Wordle at the beginning of my first hour every day has provided that sense of structure and normalcy that I’ve been missing — a universal routine everyone could use.

Despite all of the pros of Wordle, I’ll admit it can be frustrating. Especially when my friends get the word and I don’t, or I can’t think of that final guess on a difficult day.

Still, I’d recommend Wordle for anyone looking for a quick escape from their busy lives. What seems like just another gimmicky word game is deeper than that. I have certainly appreciated what it has added to my week and can’t wait for tomorrow’s new Wordle — no spoilers.