# "Wordle," a strangely compelling word game (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** board-card-word-game\ **Created:** [December 24, 2021, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604 "2021-12-24T21:12:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/321 "2022-01-08T03:56:38Z")
Yes, the “one puzzle a day and it’s the same answer for everyone” makes it more like the sudoku or crossword published in newspapers, giving it competitive or comparison appeal. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/322 "2022-01-08T05:38:49Z")
Wordle 203 3/6\* ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Very lucky second guess. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/323 "2022-01-08T06:55:19Z")
Barely got it. Wordle 203 6/6\* ⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛ ⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛ ⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ORATE BRAID GRAVY CRAMP CRAWL CRANK ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/324 "2022-01-08T08:28:50Z")
I got it in 6 today, but guesses # 3, 4, 5, and 6 all had the first 3 letters all green. Wordle 203 6/6 ⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛ ⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/325 "2022-01-08T12:08:00Z")
Lost my streak today. Dammit. I just couldn’t come up with the missing letter: Wordle 203 X/6\* ⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨 🟨🟨⬛⬛⬛ 🟨🟨🟨⬛⬛ ⬛⬛🟩🟨🟩 ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 SWE_AR_ _RA_TIO _KAR_MA QU **A** _R_ **K** P **RANK** F **RANK** bust… ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/326 "2022-01-08T12:31:23Z")
Nice… fear the power of my symmetrical logic! Wordle 203 3/6\* ⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛ ⬛🟩🟩🟩⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/327 "2022-01-08T14:29:54Z")
I decided to use the “start today with yesterday’s word” strategy: SLUMP T **R** E **N** D B **R** O **N** _C_ and then the solution was easy, as the C had to go in the front and there aren’t a lot of “CRIN” words, so the middle vowel was an A. The second guess was key, as it turned out. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/328 "2022-01-08T15:35:39Z")
Four, again: IDE_A_S _AC_O_RN_ **C** _AR_ **N** Y CRANK – from the result I had on 3, there wasn’t much of anywhere else to go. ---
**Author:** ![PB\_J](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6de8d8/32.png) [@PB\_J](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PB_J)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/329 "2022-01-08T15:56:43Z")
Does it remind anyone else of the old pencil and paper Hangman game? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/330 "2022-01-08T21:13:27Z")
Bleargh. Wordle 203 X/6 ⬜⬜🟩🟨⬜ 🟨⬜🟩🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜ ---
**Author:** ![SoToasty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sotoasty/32/2803_2.png) [@SoToasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoToasty)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/331 "2022-01-08T21:18:36Z")
Wordle 203 4/6\* ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ 🟨⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 4 guesses for me today ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/332 "2022-01-08T22:11:19Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > It’s not the game so much as the social aspect that was the key to success. You can see other people’s progression and compare with your own. Cheating doesn’t matter because then it’s “oh, you had a lucky first guess, good for you” rather than some kind of test of skill. > > Also, more than one a day wouldn’t work. That also helps since just about everybody who cares to can get to it within the day and people can share in that. I was thinking about this last night before I went to sleep and that’s exactly the conclusion I came to. The one-game-a-day approach, everybody gets the same word, and the social aspect, after seeing it blow up on my Facebook feed the last few days and in this here Game Room, that itself makes it much more compelling. Because, frankly, the game itself gets pretty damned boring quickly if you have unlimited access to playing as many games as you want. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/333 "2022-01-09T05:13:56Z")
Rough one for me. Wordle 204 5/6\* ⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛ ⬛🟩🟩🟨⬛ ⬛🟩🟩⬛🟩 ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/334 "2022-01-09T05:34:28Z")
Wordle 204 5/6\* ⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨 🟨⬛⬛🟨⬛ ⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛ ⬛🟨🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 STAIR RULED WRECK FERRY GORGE ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/335 "2022-01-09T05:39:46Z")
Wordle 204 5/6 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩⬜🟨🟨 ⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩 ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Dang, tough one for me. 5/6. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/336 "2022-01-09T06:21:10Z")
Four. ADIEU STROP FORGE GORGE ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/337 "2022-01-09T07:11:18Z")
It was a 50-50 shot whether we were gonna get it in three or four today. Wordle 204 4/6\* ⬛⬛🟨🟨🟩 🟨🟩⬛🟩🟩 ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ST_OR_ **E** _R_ **O** U **GE** F **ORGE** **GORGE** ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/338 "2022-01-09T07:59:06Z")
I’m not reading the rest of the thread yet. I’m simply waiting until midnight to give it another go. So far I am 16 for 16. 2 minutes to midnight… ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/339 "2022-01-09T08:12:47Z")
I abandoned my strategy and it cost me. Instead of solving it in 5, I got it in 6. Wordle 204 6/6 ⬛🟨⬛⬛🟩 ⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟩🟩⬛🟩 ⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛ ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 I am 17 for 17. [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/X7yvYvV.png?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/7qVwlHP) ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/340 "2022-01-09T08:16:18Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I was thinking about this last night before I went to sleep and that’s exactly the conclusion I came to. The one-game-a-day approach, everybody gets the same word, and the social aspect, after seeing it blow up on my Facebook feed the last few days and in this here Game Room, that itself makes it much more compelling. Because, frankly, the game itself gets pretty damned boring quickly if you have unlimited access to playing as many games as you want. Fortunately it’s not on my FB feed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604.md?page=18)