Wordle quickly became a worldwide craze.
In October 2021, Brooklyn software programmer Josh Wardle made the online word game available to the public. According to the Deseret News, millions of people play the game every day. And now, only a few months after its introduction, there are innumerable variants of the game available online, including ones devoted to the worlds of Taylor Swift, "Star Wars," "Harry Potter," and "Lord of the Rings."
Wardle recently talked with Slate about the game's success and his feelings on all of these spinoffs.
"I adore them," he said. "It's fantastic as a creator to see somebody so impressed by something you made that they want to riff on it." That makes me so happy."
Here's a list of Wordle spinoffs available online.
Wordle variants
Hurdle: Hurdle is simply five Wordle games in a row - but there's a catch. The answer to one problem becomes the initial guess for the next. Hurdle fills in the first four guesses with all of the prior words on the fifth and final problem, giving players with just two opportunities to answer the final puzzle.
Dordle: In Dordle, players must answer two five-letter words at the same time. To complete the problem, players have seven guesses.
Quordle: In this Wordle spinoff, players must answer four five-letter words at the same time. To finish the problem, players are given nine guesses.
Octordle: If you're seeking a more difficult task, consider Octordle. Players must figure out eight five-letter words in as few as 13 guesses.
Sedordle: If you're searching for a more difficult task than Octordle, try Sedordle, which requires participants to answer 16 words at once. Players have 21 attempts to solve all 16 words.
Semantle: You guess a word in Semantle, and the game informs you how semantically close that word is to the mystery word of the day. According to the game's website, the game is about meaning rather than spelling. A "getting close" indication indicates how close you are – if a guess is one of the 1,000 closest words to the target word, a rank will be supplied as a hint. Otherwise, it will inform you that you are "cold."
Wordle Unlimited: Similar to Wordle, Wordle Unlimited allows you to play as many times as you like in a day.
Hello there, Wordl: According to USA Today, Hello Wordl is similar to Wordle, except it supports up to 11-letter words. You may also change the degree of difficulty.
Crosswordle: The aim of Crosswordle is to predict the two crossing words in as few guesses as possible. According to the game's website, the two words are always linked in some manner.
Waffle: In a grid structured like a waffle, this word game challenges players to predict six words at once — but the secret is that the game offers all of the letters required to form those words. To answer the challenge, players must rearrange the letters on the grid, and the game permits up to 15 swaps, however, each puzzle may be finished in as little as 10 swaps, according to CNET. Waffle's scoring system is based on stars, with players receiving one star for each turn remaining after finishing the puzzle.
Wordles Inspired by Religion
Follow Medle: A Wordle offshoot is now linked to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Come Follow Medle is a five-letter word game based on the "Come, Follow Me" curriculum, which is a resource for people and families to use to help them prepare for church each week. The game provides players suggestions regarding the mystery word of the day, such as a biblical chapter or a song to which the word is related.
Wordle for trivia enthusiasts
Factle: Factle provides players a prompt, such as the most-streamed songs on Spotify all time, and then asks them to choose the top five responses. A green tile indicates that a guess is correct, but a yellow tile indicates that an answer is among the top five but not in that place.
Redactle: According to MSN, Redactle shows a random Wikipedia page and conceals all of the relevant terms. Players must then guess the words that have been censored. You win when you correctly guess the article's title or topic.
Wordle fandom offshoots
Taylordle: Taylor Swift lovers may enjoy the word game Taylordle, which is dedicated to the singer-songwriter. The game was recently extended to incorporate four to eight-letter terms that are always related to Swift in some manner.
Lordle of the Rings: This word game is for J.R.R. Tolkien and "Lord of the Rings" aficionados. The mysterious five-letter word of the day, according to the game's website, always comes from the main text of "Lord of the Rings," which, given the length of the series, isn't that much of a constraint.
SWordle: In SWordle, players must guess a mysterious "Star Wars"-related word in six tries. According to the game's website, there are more than 14,000 potential solutions.
Squirdle: Squirdle is a Pokemon-themed Wordle in which players must guess the name of a Pokemon in eight attempts. According to Digital Trends, with each guess, the game displays indications that will assist players get closer to the solution, such as whether the guess is the correct generation or kind.
Scholardle: Players get five chances to uncover the mystery academic word of the day in Scholardle.
Trekle: This is a Wordle variant for "Star Trek" aficionados. According to the game's website, the difficulty of the mystery word of the day grows over the week beginning on Sunday.
Foodies' Wordle
Foodle: Foodle challenges players to predict a five-letter food-related word in six attempts.
Phoodle: Developed by Cookbook author Julia Loria, Phoodle challenges players to predict a five-letter food-related phrase in six attempts, according to Today. The game's website says, "Test your culinary acumen by guessing a food-related phrase, from equipment to renowned chefs and more."
Mathematicians may use Wordle
Nerdle: In Nerdle, players must answer the mystery equation in as little as six guesses – usual order of operation applies. The square glows green if an estimated number or symbol is in the correct location. If a guessed number or symbol appears in the equation but is not in the correct place, it becomes red. If a supposed number or symbol does not appear in the equation, it will become black. Visit Numberle for another similar game).
Integerle: Integerle asks players to predict a five-digit mystery number in six attempts. According to the game's website, the mystery number will be between 00000 and 99999. For those searching for a challenge, there is also a hard mode.
Wordle for film buffs
Framed: In Framed, players must predict the mystery movie of the day from a succession of stills. Each guess exposes a new still from the film, but players only receive six guesses, similar to Wordle.
Moviedle: Like Framed, Moviedle challenges players to identify the mystery movie, but instead of stills, it shows video segments from the film, according to the New York Post. Players have six guesses and each one earns them one additional second.
Wordle for geographers
Globle: In Globle, players must identify the mystery nation with the fewest number of guesses possible, while there is no limit to the number of tries. Each estimate will be colored to signify its proximity to the mystery nation of the day – the deeper the shade of red, the closer you are.
Worldle: Worldle, like Globle, demands players to determine the proper nation. With each guess, however, the game displays the distance, direction, and closeness of your guess to the mystery country.
Flaggle: Flaggle challenges players to determine a country's or territory's flag in as few attempts as possible, according to MSN.
Wordle for art enthusiasts
Artle: According to Forbes, Artle provides players four chances to determine the designer of four pieces of art. The game displays items from the National Gallery of Art's 155,000-work collection, representing 15,000 artists.
Paintle: Paintle challenges participants to guess a painting in six trials. According to the game's website, the mystery artwork is concealed by pixelation, and each false guess exposes a less pixelated version of the picture.
Wordles with music themes
Heardle: Heardle is a music-based guessing game in which participants must guess the song of the day. According to New Musical Express, the mystery tune will always be drawn from a pool of the most streamed songs in the last ten years. According to New Musical Express magazine, the game has also spawned a few spinoffs of its own, including versions devoted to the band's Muse and Paramore, as well as Taylor Swift.
Byrdle: Byrdle is a Wordle variant in which the solution is always related to choral music. According to the game's website, the mystery word of the day might be proper nouns, plurals, or musical words in foreign languages.
Wordle with celebrities
Lookdle: Lookdle challenges gamers to determine the mystery celebrity of the day in five attempts. With each wrong guess, the image becomes gradually less covered.
Wordle for sports enthusiasts
Weddle: According to ESPN, Weddle, named after former University of Utah safety and recent Super Bowl champion Eric Weddle, provides players eight chances to predict an NFL player's name, team, division, position, height, age, and jersey number. As with Wordle, a yellow box indicates that the guess is coming near, while a green box indicates that the guess is accurate.
Poeltl: Poeltl is an NBA player guessing game that provides players eight opportunities to identify the mystery player of the day. The name of the game was inspired by former University of Utah standout Jakob Poeltl, who is currently with the San Antonio Spurs. The solution will always be a current NBA player, and with each guess, further clues will be revealed. A silhouette function provides gamers with an outline of the mystery athlete.
