The new competitive online puzzle game, W-O-R-D-L-E, has cultivated an addicted following of players. 

The game allows the solver to complete a daily puzzle by guessing a random five-letter word in six tries. A green box symbolizes the letter is correct and in the right position of the word, yellow means the letter is correct but is not located in the correct position of the word, and gray means the letter will not be used inside of the word. The game also allows the player to share their score of the day.

“Everyone was playing and posting, and as an English teacher I had to get in on it,” said Dual Enrollment English teacher Katie Anderson.

According to the New York Times, the platform was created by software engineer Josh Wardle in Oct. 2021, and by Nov. 1, ninety people had played the game. Since then, millions of people log on to solve the daily challenge. The New York Times has since acquired the online game in January 2022.

“I think part of what Wordle’s appeal is, is that everyone has the same word and the massive ability to not give it away, and we all want to know that we were smarter than someone else,” said Anderson.

According to a survey done on @theolhscurrent’s Instagram, 125 out of 214 surveyed said that they were addicted to playing. 

“At some point around two weeks ago was probably the closest I was to getting addicted,” said senior Jillian Tran. “I played Wordle spin-offs like Wordle Unlimited and the Taylor Swift Wordle because it is honestly really satisfying once you figure it out, and you just want to keep going.”

Many students share their Wordle scores with their peers and family members.

“Getting the word in fewer guesses really gives me a boost of serotonin, so I have to share that high with someone,” said Jillian, who believes the game boosts competition. 

Just like their students, teachers have joined in on the competitiveness the website can bring out.

“I send it to my husband, and sometimes when it is a really good day, I post it on my school Twitter account,” said Anderson, whose husband’s objective is to guess the correct word while Anderson takes it a step further and tries to guess the word in as few guesses as possible.

Some students see the game as a trend of 2022 but don’t want it to die out just yet.

“I think [Wordle] might be a trend, but I hope it ends up being like crossword puzzles where people do it every day,” said senior Tracy Peucker. 

Amongst staff and students, it’s clear the web game brings out positive emotions.

“It is a collective experience, and I think that’s rare,” said Anderson.