Several weeks ago, I jumped on the Wordle train. I’ve never been more excited to post a bunch of colored tile emojis to my social media feed. Is this really what my pandemic life has come to? Me and everyone else, apparently. For those of y’all living under a rock (no judgment if you have zero idea what I’m talking about), Wordle is a daily online word game for the easily entertained. Since the game rose to fame, several Wordle spinoffs have come to be, only adding to the fun.
Recently acquired by New York Times, the objective of the game is simple enough: you have six tries to guess the mystery five-letter word of the day. Letters in the word and in the correct position turn green. Wrong spot? Those letters turn yellow. Letters not found in the word at all turn white (or black in dark mode).
Haven’t played from the beginning? You can access all past puzzles, archived for your binging pleasure. (You’re welcome.) As if the daily Wordle challenge wasn’t addictive enough, there are variations of the online word challenge I like even better. I present you with a shortlist of online games for even more wordplay:
- Word Master is literally Wordle but multiple mystery words per day. Same color tiles and rules apply. You’ll get six tries to guess each mystery word before receiving a new game board.
- Lewdle is alright. Not my favorite, but meh. Think Wordle but for crude four-letter words. If you’re likely to be offended by the use of profanity, vulgarity, or obscenity, this one is not for you! I’m not a fan because some of the words are out there. I don’t consider all the solutions lewd by any means but I digress.
- That said, Sweardle is probably one of my favorites. Out of all these word games, I’m the best at this one. What can I say? I’ve been known to cuss like a sailor. Unlike Wordle, you only get four guesses to find the four-letter swear word of the day; I usually get it in two. I said what I said.
- Quordle is my most recent obsession, even more so than the OG (original game). Shoutout to my best friend Monica for sending it my way! Basically, you’re trying to solve four Wordles at once. It’s absolutely wild and hard as hell! You have nine guesses to solve all four words. I don’t mean nine guesses per word, either… you literally get nine guesses total. Quordle requires the utmost concentration and multitasking abilities. It’s definitely not a game for the faint of heart. If you already suffer from anxiety, prepare to spiral into a panic attack from the stress. You’ve been warned.
- If Quordle is too much but you’d still like a challenge, try Dordle. It’s two Wordle boards. You’ll have seven guesses to crack the two mystery words. Can you do it?
ACTIONABLE STEPS: Play a game or two from the list above. Are there any other Wordle spinoffs or general online games you think I should know about? Share in the comments below! I love a good distraction from reality.
