Wordle's rise to fame was exponentially quick, with Google Trends showing that people's interest in the game rose from practically zero to 100 in just a month and a half.
However, not everyone is as keen on picking up the game and playing it every time a new word comes out. Whether it's the fear of the unknown, the game's perceived difficulty, or you couldn't get into the game, here are some tips for you to get over those fears and try the game for yourself:
Wordle's Game Mechanics
Wordle is a puzzle game that challenges you to guess a five-letter word in only six attempts. The game tells you which of the letters you chose are in the target word and whether they are in the right place, per Tom's Guide.
Letters that are in the target word but are in the wrong place will turn yellow, while letters that are in the word and are in the correct place will turn green. However, a letter that isn't a part of the target word turns gray.
One Wordle rule that the game doesn't tell you is that every word you enter must be in the word list, which seems to be based on a dictionary.
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Let's use today's Wordle answer: FLAIR. If you guessed TROPE like what Forbes' Erik Kain did, every letter except for "R" is greyed out, meaning R is part of the word but is not in the right position.
If you guessed RAINY, then the letters R, A, and I would turn yellow. However, using CURIA as your guess would show "I" highlighted in green, confirming that "I" is in the Wordle and is in the correct position.
Although the game may seem harder after the New York Times bought it in early February, it has not.
In fact, the people who have been playing the game since it reached viral status have been playing it in easy mode technically, per Mashable.
The game does have a hard mode, but you can toggle it off and on anytime rather than have it automatically switch on out of the blue. This mode makes sure any revealed hints aren't used again on subsequent guesses.
For example, if your first guess was "RAINY" and you got yellow tiles for the letters R, A, and I, then you have to include those three letters in your next guess. Any word that doesn't have these letters won't be accepted, but those that do, like "CURIA," will be.
Tips for Beginners
Now That you probably have the basic rules down, you may be eager to try the game for yourself. If so, here are some tips for you to keep in mind during your attempts:
- Find a word that you're comfortable with as your starting guess every day, according to The Gamer. A good starting word has multiple vowels and common consonants, such as R, S, and T, per the NPR.
- Although uncommon, words that reuse a letter do exist. As such, try reusing vowels and consonants that are already green and see if it's used somewhere in the Wordle, per IGN.
- Don't second-guess yourself. An easy word like "light" is often the correct one. There could be a time when a complex one is the Wordle, but by then, you'll know that the easy word you have in mind is wrong without making a fuzz about it.
- Don't reuse grayed-out letters. They're like that for a good reason.
- Consult a dictionary or Google to help you find five-letter words. Your memory and critical thinking can only get you so far. Let those that have all the words in the world help you out.
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