Advantages

Music composer Surya Prasadh receives a “rush of dopamine” every morning when she solves the Wordle for the day. It’s “like charging up my brain to work,” she says. Prasadh is not alone in her daily pursuit of this online word game. As of January 2022, 14% of US adults play Wordle, the viral game launched by engineer Josh Wardle in October 2021. Owned by The New York Times since January 31, 2022, the game is both addictive and beneficial. Wordle’s popularity has made way for almost a dozen variations of the game. Linguist Aiden Pine adapted the game for the Gitksan language in the hopes of bolstering Indigenous languages and their associated culture.

Word games, regardless of medium, are essential for language acquisition. Across all age groups, vocabulary games allow students to practice new words, foster self-confidence and fluency, internalize new ideas, and encourage shy learners. Word games require focus and help build concentration while testing verbal skills. Regular play improves memory over time as it “activate[s] the parts of your brain” typically required for “short-term and long-term memory processes.” Furthermore, the accessibility of mobile games widens the audience of traditional word games, from Baby Boomers to Gen-Z. Wordle rose to popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic. The game “created a wholesome distraction at the perfect time.” The ease with which players can share their results helped Wordle gain online recognition and generally created “a sense of community around the game.”

How it works

Every day, Wordle releases a random five-letter word. Players have six tries to guess correctly. Each attempt reveals which letters are in the word and in which position. Green means you accurately placed a letter. The built-in share feature allows gamers to post their results on Facebook and Twitter, making Wordle an interpersonal experience. 

The Facts

Word games have historically provided intellectual, linguistic, and aesthetic stimulation. By the 1920s, crossword puzzles were so popular that doctors warned they might cause trouble with eyesight or lead to insomnia. This universal obsession with word games is unsurprising, considering that satisfaction gained from problem-solving and strategizing are natural human traits. This makes word games in all forms, from complex newspaper crosswords and sudokus to digital games, universally appealing.

Despite its meteoric rise in December 2021, Wordle cannot yet compete with classics like Words with Friends and Candy Crush. The above chart depicts survey results completed in January 2022. The research found “that 14 percent of U.S. adults play Wordle, compared to 46 percent who play Words with Friends and 52 percent who play Candy Crush at least occasionally.” These games, seen as a pastime or source of entertainment, actually provide countless benefits, many of which fall in the “brain boosting” category.

Helpful tips

There is no one way to play Wordle, but there are many helpful strategies worth trying! Cycle through start words with as many vowels and common consonants as possible, like STARE, TEARY, PIOUS, and ADIEU, without repeating any letters. Use the most common letters at the beginning of most English-language words: E, T, A, O, I, N, S, R, H, and L. Lastly, use weird words to start your game. YACHT and ULCER are great examples.