The hype behind Wordle and understanding the power of language

Anyone who likes to speak and write a language finds solace in words. There are several methodologies to make a learner love the vocabulary, and things get interesting if one of the methodologies can be gamified. Wordle is a popular online vocabulary game that has millions of fans. It is no surprise that most games attain massive popularity but what makes Wordle different from other games is that the player can leverage the power of the English language. If you are a language lover, chances are that you have already started playing the game every day. I love word games, but why am I talking about Wordle in particular - is it worth the praise? Let's find out.

What is Wordle, and what is the hype about?

Wordle appears to be simple to play, but it is more difficult when put to practice. The daily deduction game requires participants to deduce a five-letter word. A new word is revealed every day, and it gives you six goes to guess the correct word of the day. During the guessing, the tile color will change to help the players figure out the word for the game. A grey letter in the game indicates that it is not today's word, but a yellow letter indicates it is in today's word but in the incorrect location. Then there's the green letter, which suggests it's in the correct word and place.

Players use the keyboard to choose letters from the alphabet and enter them into the five blank tiles. They press the submit button when satisfied with their 5-letter word guess. The word is then checked to see if it or some of the letters are correct. The complete set of 5 letters turns green to indicate it is accurate and is the word of the day. Players select letters from the alphabet and enter them into the five blank tiles on the virtual keyboard. Once they're satisfied with their 5-letter word guess, they hit the submit button.

You win the game if you accurately guess the word within the first six attempts. Winning for two or more days in a row will award a winning streak. The streak will continue until you fail to guess the word one day, at which point the same will be broken. 

Who invented Wordle?

Josh Wardle, a former employee of social news website Reddit and a Welshman, created Wordle. In 2013, the software engineer created a game prototype for his friends to try out. They didn't like it, so he put it away. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Josh revisited the game, and after testing it with family and friends, he decided to make it public.

Tips & tricks for Wordle

If you're a purist, you might want to skip the following advice and trust your gut feelings. If you're tired of seeing grey boxes all the time, here are some suggestions you might find helpful:

Choosing your first word: The first word is the most crucial. You need to select a word with at least two vowels and five separate letters to maximize the value of your opening play.

Avoid reusing greys: At the bottom end of the Wordle board, a keypad tells which letters are green, yellow, and grey. Note that it is not a great idea to reuse letters that have turned grey. Yes, this appears to be self-evident. However, come up with fresh five-letter words that don't include letters you've already tried.

Pay close attention to every hint: The only incorrect guess in Wordle ignores the previous clues. Of course, the yellow and green boxes we want to see with each guess are crucial — they're the puzzle's main hints. The greyed-out letters, on the other hand, are equally important. If your initial guess proves that R, S, or T aren't in the day's word, utilizing any of those letters in a subsequent guess is essentially a waste of time.

Does the game of Wordle establish the power of language?

As a result of Wordle's buzz, a discourse about language is erupting on a scale that hasn't been seen before. We talk about words, language, vocabulary, and spelling with our peers every day, and how often did we do this before? Thanks to Wordle, we're thinking more about language and the words we use daily - a whole new generation is discovering the beauty of language and the pleasure we can derive from learning a new one.

Not to mention the fact that we're broadening our vocabularies while we're having fun. We're not only racking our brains for every five-letter word we've ever heard, but we're also learning new ones, which adds to our enjoyment of the game. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy since playing improves our language, and the stronger our vocabulary, the better we play.

We start thinking about how letters can be mixed as we explore words that could be a possible answer. "Can the 'p' be placed at the end as it doesn't fit at the first position?" What can come before an 's' in second place?" "I have a 't' in second place, so what can come before it?" We begin to think about the permutations & combinations and notice linguistic rules and patterns without realizing them.

Let's not forget that one can trace the game's roots back to a simple love of words. Wordle was inspired by crossword puzzles and other language-based guessing games, and Josh Wardle has helped instill a love of language in a whole new population with his innovation. We're witnessing different language variations of the game, which is helping to spread the word across the world. Additionally, Wordle might potentially promote indigenous languages too.

To Summarize

Wordle can be much more than just a fun game. It can be a great language-learning resource too. It can be a fun way to rack your brains and revise your lexical inventory.
The rise and popularity of games like Wordle impart the power of language to the current generation. If you are a newbie, it is a good idea to spend your time playing games like these and expand your English vocabulary.

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