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If you've spent any time on the internet lately, you know that Wordlehas taken over.
Our obsession has been endlessly analyzed and dissected. We've shared strategies and tips. It has been meme-ed and shared all over Twitter. It was even bought by the New York Times. And of course our insatiable appetite for the simple puzzle game has been the catalyst for multiple Wordle clones. Here's a roundup of our favorites.
1. Absurdle
If Wordleisn't enough of a challenge, this one will have you stumped. It's even hard to understand how it works, but a previous Mashable article breaks it down: "Instead of starting with a secret word that players work their way towards, Absurdledoesn't have a single word up its sleeve," Sam Haysom explains. "The game starts with 2,315 possibilities and responds to each of your guesses by keeping the maximum number of potential secret words in its back pocket, forcing you to narrow its options down until you essentially trap the AI into only having one word left." Truly diabolical.
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For those who just want to watch the world burn. Credit: Screenshot: qntm / Absurdle 2. Dordle, Quordle, Octordle, and Sedecordle
First there was Dordlewhich is playing two words at the same time. But the one-upmanship didn't stop there. Instead the clones multiplied at a feverish pace. Next came Quordle, which is four words, then Octordle, which is eight, and now we actually have Sedecordlewhich is playing 16 words at the same time. Utter chaos.
For the ambidextrous mind. Credit: Screenshot: Dordle / Zaratustra Productions 3. Lewdle
It was only a matter of time before someone came up with a NSFW version of Wordle. For those of us who instinctively jump to an inappropriate five-letter word, welcome to Lewdle, you need not get your mind out of the gutter.
A safe space to act out your 'Wordle' fantasies. Credit: Screenshot: Lewdle 4. Primel
This is technically a game, but for the mathematically-challenged, it's an instrument of torture. With Primel, the goal is to guess a five-digit prime number instead of a five-letter word. The mere thought of a five-digit prime number is panic-inducing, but to each their own.
I already hate this. Credit: Screenshot: Primel / Onverged.Yt 5. Sweardle
Similar to Lewdle, Sweardlezeroes in on the human tendency to be inappropriate. The major difference is that it uses four-letter words instead of five. It may sound easy, but you'll soon realize that the the lexicon of colorful language is quite extensive.
Nailed it. Credit: Screenshot: Sweardle 6. Queerdle
Self-described as the "yassification of wordle," Queerdle challenges your knowledge of LGBTQ+ vocabulary. Everything is basically the same as the original Wordle, except the words vary between four and eight letters and is sometimes two words. Why? "Because queerness can't be contained," according to the instructions by creator Jordan Bouvier.
Queerdle also takes suggestions for new LGBTQ+ words to include. Credit: Screenshot: Queerdle / Jordan Bouvier 7.Taylordle
Making a Wordleclone is now becoming requisite for any stan community. And Swifties are nothing if not the ultimate stans. Using the same rules as the original, Taylordleis played with album titles, song lyrics, or really any Taylor Swift trivia, i.e. "scarf." IYKYK.
If there's a "Blank Space," you know what to do. Credit: Screenshot: Taylordle 8. Wordle-BTS
Not to be outdone by the Taylor Swift fandom, there's also a version for K-pop band BTS, and the Army is already hooked. The rules of the game are the same, except with BTS-themed vocab. The tiles turn purple instead of green, which is of course a reference to the phrase "I Purple You."
Put your BTS knowledge to the test. Credit: Screenshot: hannahcode / WORDLE-BTS 9. Wordle Unlimited
If you've tackled the original Wordle, and all the Wordleclones, there's Wordle Unlimited. It's just like the game we know and love, except with unlimited words, so you don't have to wait an entire day to play again. Plus, this version has a feature where you can enter a custom word and play with friends. Wordlepurists might scoff, but we won't "JUDGE."
Play to your heart's content. Credit: Screenshot: Wordle Unlimited 10. Searchdle
Gleefully mocking the futility of SEO strategy, the rules of Searchdle are as follows: "Word length varies wildly (like SEO advice.) Words are random (like SEO data) but you can share your particular word with a friend (like SEO spam.)" It's fun in a laughing-through-the-tears kind of way.
Play and learn about SEO at the same time. Credit: Screenshot: Searchdle / @RyanJones, WTFSEO 11. Jewdle
For a word game based on vocabulary knowledge, it's only fitting that there's now a version celebrating Jewish culture's contribution. Even if you're not Jewish, Hebrew and Yiddish words are so ubiquitous that you'll probably be able to make a few guesses. Mazel tov.
'Jewdle' also explains the meaning of the word if you get it right. Credit: Screenshot: Jewdle / dabbles 12. Star Wordle
TheStar Warsfranchise has one of the most legendary followings of all time, so it's no surprise that this fandom would jump on the Wordlebandwagon. Using vocabulary from Wookieepedia this version will test your knowledge of the galaxy far far away.
May the force be with you. Credit: Screenshot: Star Wordle 13. Heardle
For the musically-inclined, this one is for you. Listen to just a second of music's intro and guess the song. Each time you guess incorrectly, Heardleadds more of the song which brings down your score. You can also choose to add a second to the music for additional help. Plus, you get to listen to the whole song once when you guess right.
Test your musical knowledge. Credit: Screenshot: 'Heardle' / Omaske 14. Worldle and Globle
These two Wordlespinoffs put your geographic skills to the test. Kind of like the game GeoGuessr, as Mashable's Belen Edwards points out, the goal of Worldleis to guess the country based on its outlined border. You get six guesses and with each incorrect guess, the game gives you hints with the geographic distance and direction from the answer.
Without a sense of scale, this game can be tricky. Credit: Screenshot: 'Worldle' / @teuteuf With Globle, the goal is also to guess the correct country, but instead of beginning with the outline of a country, you start the game by guessing any country at random. The closer you are the correct country, the redder or "hotter" the guesses become.
Just start guessing. Credit: Screenshot: 'Globle' / The Abe Train This article was published in February 2022 and was updated in March 2022.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Wordle.