REVIEWS i s wo r t h yo u r t i m e By Gabby Miller STAFF REPORTER
The world has been going crazy over a new daily puzzle challenge. Every social media platform is filled with people bragging about how many guesses it took them to solve these puzzles. What is this game? Wordle. Wordle is a web-based word game arranged in grid formation, which allows players to have six attempts to guess a five-letter word each day. Initially, this game sounds remarkably difficult. However, it is achievable as Wordle gives feedback for each guess. These clues are represented by colored tiles. Three different colors are used to indicate when letters are in their correct position. For example, dark gray is used to fill in tiles when the letter guessed is not present in the word. The color yellow is used to indicate that you have guessed a letter that is in the word, but it is not in the correct spot. Finally, the color green is used to indicate that you have guessed the correct letter in the correct placement. After playing the game for 10 consecutive days, I have discovered that the amount of tries it takes to solve the puzzle is more luck based than skill. Several people have strategies to complete the puzzle in the least amount of tries possible, such as starting with words like “alien” or “adieu” that contain several vowels or more commonly used consonants. Although it all comes down to luck, the result of several yellow and green tiles in your first guess is a positive start. For example, one day the Wordle word was “pleat,” and my first guess was the word
“great”. This was a fantastic starting point because I was given three green tiles and just had to figure out the first two letters. My second guess was “sweat” and when that was still gray, I guessed “pleat” and it was all green. Many people struggle to reveal the word in the six tries. Coming from someone who hasn’t lost yet, it is simply because people don’t understand the game and rush the process. Sometimes you just need patience and thought with each of your guesses in order to get the word within the six tries. Many people reuse gray letters and waste attempts by placing letters in the same spot as their last guess. Wordle is an addictive game. All of my classmates are chatting non-stop about the puzzles. I enjoy Wordle. The words sometimes take me a long time to guess, but I love the way they make me think. I also enjoy talking about the game with my friends and family, and seeing who guessed the word quicker. However, I am frustrated that I can only complete one Wordle a day because I really enjoy the challewnge. I also feel it would be a better game if there was an indication for when a letter is duplicated in the word. For these reasons, I give Wordle 4/5 stars for being an enjoyable brain-teaser that has potential for improvement in the future. Wordle is definitely worth your time.
North Pointe — Friday, March 4, 2022 — 9
