# "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:** 70
**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:** [February 15, 2022, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1381 "2022-02-15T04:30:42Z")
Well, like the game it’s based on, it’s not always going to be the most popular line. Still, I admit this variation on Wordle never occurred to me, so I’ll give it a few more tries for the fun of it. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1382 "2022-02-15T05:22:06Z")
Wordle 241 3/6 β¬›πŸŸ©β¬›β¬›β¬› β¬›πŸŸ©πŸŸ¨β¬›β¬› 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 CREST DRAWN AROMA After the second guess I was sorely tempted to reuse a known bad letter, but I held fast and a few minutes later came up with a word that fit everything I knew while also checking multiple letters for the first time. Pretty happy with this effort. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2022, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1383 "2022-02-15T08:04:49Z")
Wordle 241 4/6 β¬›πŸŸ©πŸŸ¨β¬›β¬› β¬›πŸŸ¨β¬›β¬›β¬› β¬›πŸŸ©πŸŸ©πŸŸ¨β¬› 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1384 "2022-02-15T08:25:38Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > β¬›πŸŸ©πŸŸ¨β¬›β¬› > β¬›πŸŸ¨β¬›β¬›β¬› > β¬›πŸŸ©πŸŸ©πŸŸ¨β¬› > 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 You’ve got the exact same pattern I do! ⬜🟩🟨⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟩🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 TRANS/LOUIE gave me R as the second letter and the presence of an A and an O. Every word I can think of where R is the second letter has the R followed by a vowel, and it wasn’t A, so I determined the O had to be there. I tried BROAD, which confirmed that guess but still had the A in the wrong place, so the A had to be either the first or last letter, and I quickly realized it was both and won with AROMA. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2022, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1385 "2022-02-15T08:55:58Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > > [@Bullitt](#): > > > > β¬›πŸŸ©πŸŸ¨β¬›β¬› > > β¬›πŸŸ¨β¬›β¬›β¬› > > β¬›πŸŸ©πŸŸ©πŸŸ¨β¬› > > 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 > > You’ve got the exact same pattern I do! > > ⬜🟩🟨⬜⬜ > ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ > ⬜🟩🟩🟨⬜ > 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Cool! Here are our words. Our third words were the same. **Smapti β€” β€” Bullitt** TRANS β€” β€” IRATE LOUIE β€” β€” LOCUS BROAD β€” β€” BROAD AROMA β€” β€” AROMA ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1386 "2022-02-15T10:20:32Z")
Another 4: Wordle 241 4/6 β¬›πŸŸ¨πŸŸ¨β¬›β¬› β¬›πŸŸ¨β¬›β¬›πŸŸ¨ πŸŸ©β¬›πŸŸ©β¬›β¬› 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 COAST BANJO AVOID AROMA ---
**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:** [February 15, 2022, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1387 "2022-02-15T10:58:27Z")
Back on 3 finally - been working a string of 4s with one 5 (yesterday’s word): Wordle 241 3/6\* πŸŸ¨πŸŸ¨β¬›β¬›πŸŸ¨ β¬›πŸŸ¨πŸŸ¨πŸŸ¨β¬› 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 _RA_TI_O_ F_ORA_Y **AROMA** @GuanoLad: I’m guessing you went RATIO, ABORT, AROMA? ---
**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:** [February 15, 2022, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1388 "2022-02-15T11:05:54Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > @GuanoLad: I’m guessing you went… Very close. First word was AM/FM. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2022, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1389 "2022-02-15T11:19:29Z")
πŸ€¦β€β™‚οΈ Didn’t even think about that one! ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1390 "2022-02-15T11:27:30Z")
Wordle 241 3/6 β¬›β¬›πŸŸ¨πŸŸ¨πŸŸ¨ πŸŸ©πŸŸ©πŸŸ¨πŸŸ¨β¬› 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 That didn’t take long. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1391 "2022-02-15T11:49:00Z")
Apparently there are 2 answers for no. 241 > **[Wordle users β€˜confused’ as they share different results](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/wordle-word-today-answers-nyt-b2016156.html)** > > Same day, different Wordle ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1392 "2022-02-15T12:04:09Z")
Comparing the source code of the NYTimes version and the original version via the Wayback machine, it appears that AGORA would have been today’s word in the original version and AROMA would have been tomorrow’s word, but for some reason the former was deleted when the conversion was made, so the latter is now today’s word. I believe the word for the following day is the same in both versions, but I didn’t bother to look at it too closely and it has already escaped my short-term memory. Maybe the Times thought that having two similar words back-to-back would’ve felt like a cheat. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2022, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1393 "2022-02-15T12:20:07Z")
Wordle 241 5/6\* ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ ⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨 🟩🟨⬜🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Not my best ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1394 "2022-02-15T13:00:46Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > it appears that AGORA would have been today’s word in the original version and AROMA would have been tomorrow’s word, but for some reason the former was deleted when the conversion was made, […] > > Maybe the Times thought that having two similar words back-to-back would’ve felt like a cheat. AGORA?! What the hell kind of wordle answer is that? I’ve never even seen that word before other than as a prefix for a phobia. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1395 "2022-02-15T13:07:03Z")
Wordle 241 4/6 ⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ ⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜ 🟩🟩⬜🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Average day for me TEARS PARCH ARBOR AROMA ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1396 "2022-02-15T13:22:54Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > AGORA?! What the hell kind of wordle answer is that? I remember learning the word in sixth grade or so, as describing the public square/commons of an ancient Greek city. A bit obscure, I’ll grant, but I wouldn’t think it would be unfamiliar to any adult with a substantial vocabulary. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2022, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1397 "2022-02-15T13:48:18Z")
My lame start word, TRAMS, finally generated a good hit. Wordle 241 2/6 ⬜🟩🟨🟩⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1398 "2022-02-15T14:12:12Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I wouldn’t think it would be unfamiliar to any adult with a substantial vocabulary. Zing! heh. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1399 "2022-02-15T15:08:44Z")
> **Wordle 241 4/6 2/15/2022** > > ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ > ⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ > 🟩⬜⬜🟨🟨 > 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 > > CYNIC β†’ Not a world-beating start, yesterday gave me… > ST_AR_E β†’ But I get to use a classic opener second. > **A** BH_OR_ β†’ Also thought about ROYAL, which wouldn’t have been as good for the A, but now I can try > **AROMA** > > If I hadn’t had the A locked in as the initial, I wouldn’t have had the guts to try something with 2 As. > > > [@Smapti](#): > > > > Maybe the Times thought that having two similar words back-to-back would’ve felt like a cheat. > > I always start with the previous day’s word, so that would have been a boon to me. Already helped on ULCER/ULTRA. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604/1400 "2022-02-15T15:51:19Z")
Wordle 241 3/6\* ⬜🟩🟨⬜⬜ 🟩🟩⬜🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604.md?page=69) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordle-a-strangely-compelling-word-game-part-1/956604.md?page=71)