Background

Wordle is a simple daily word-guessing game that became a viral cultural phenomenon after its public release in 2021. Created by software engineer Josh Wardle as a private pastime for his partner, the game invites players to guess a five-letter English word in six tries, giving color-coded feedback after each guess: green for correct letter and position, yellow for correct letter wrong position, and gray for absent letters. In 2022 The New York Times (Wordle NYT) acquired Wordle, integrating it into the Times’ growing portfolio of digital puzzles.