About two weeks ago, walking to my third period, I overheard a group of people talking about a game called “Wordle.” Curious, I looked it up on the internet and that moment changed what I looked forward to every day, as I discovered a cool and puzzling game that I could play every day. “Wordle” is a free, online game in which players try to guess a “secret” five-letter word. This is very improbable as there are over 158,390 five-letter words in the English language. The word changes daily, and players are hinted toward the correct word based on color codes – a gray letter indicates that the letter is not in the secret word; a yellow letter indicates that the letter is in the word but in a different spot; a green letter indicates that the letter is in the word and in the correct position. Each player gets six tries to guess the correct word. “Wordle” was created by software engineer Josh Wardle and was later bought by the New York Times.

As an avid “Wordle”-player, the fervor surrounding the game does not surprise me. It’s a fun game that seems easy at first glance but is also a challenge. The game is fun because it tests a person’s vocabulary to the limit. The game only gives you six tries, which makes you think hard about each word you guess. The user can only play the game once a day giving them a new riddle to look forward to every morning. Lastly, playing the game gives you “fun stress.” This “fun stress” that the game gives its players is something many people enjoy and crave to experience again.

For the many who can’t get their “‘Wordle’ fix,” there are many copies of the game on the internet, such as “Wordle Unlimited” and “Octordle.” These copies do the same thing as the original, but are missing a key component of the original game. All copies of the game remove the once-a-day characteristic of the original and let the user guess more than one word per day. This takes away from the need to get the word right within the first six guesses. This aspect of the copies allows the original game to feel unique and special.

I have a strong feeling that the “Wordle” craze is going to last, as every day I see students huddling during class, trying to figure out that day’s word. And it’s not only students who play the game – I see teachers at school bragging about how well they did. “Wordle” is a game great for the world, as I see it as something that could bring us all together rather than point out the differences between us.