By June Peers
We have all seen the posts full of green and yellow squares. Many of us know the disappointment of seeing words like shape, shake, share, shale, shade, etc. The reason for this is that as a society, we have become addicted to Wordle.
Wordle is an online word game that gives players six chances to guess a randomly selected five-letter word every 24 hours. If you choose the correct letter in the right spot, it appears as green. If you select the correct letter in an incorrect spot, it appears as yellow. If your letter is not in the word at all, it appears as gray.
Due to The New York Times acquiring the game, the number of daily players has increased drastically. According to The Guardian, the number of daily Wordle players rose from 90 players in November 2021 to two million as of January 2022.
In recent decades, online games have gained popularity globally. Every year, there seems to be a new game that is all the rage. Remember the incessant talk of Fortnite a couple of years ago or the huge Among Us craze last year? Similar to Fortnite and Among Us, Wordle gives people the ability to form a community with other players, whether that be in a competitive or friendly way.
Though it may just be a daily word puzzle, Wordle players are able to connect with one another through collaboration and even mere conversation. Classmates often ask one another if they have completed the Wordle of the day, starting conversations that may not have otherwise started. Learning that a fellow classmate is also a Wordle player may help form a friendship among individuals who were not acquainted before.
“I have been able to start conversations and develop friendships with my peers all due to Wordle. Typically, I ask for help with the Wordle of the day, and then we start talking from there,” freshman Max Usmanov said.
Along with developing friendships, Wordle can also strengthen friendships. When a friend is having difficulty solving the Wordle, someone may try to give them hints. Together, through collaboration and teamwork, the clues can lead the struggling individual to victory.
Players receive a sense of gratification when they solve the Wordle in only a few tries. They may boast about their accomplishments by telling their friends or posting their scores on social media, leading to the competitive aspect of Wordle as well. Not solving the Wordle or seeing others complete the Wordle with an astonishingly few guesses motivates players to try to play a more successful game the next day.
As juvenile as it may sound, Wordle also gives people something to look forward to each day. In our mundane, routine schedules as students, we seek forms of entertainment to cope with our stressful lives. Wordle is definitely an academic game as it involves strategy and requires a great amount of patience and perseverance.
“I love playing Wordle at the start of the day because I think it is a very fun and entertaining way to get my mind to wake up,” freshman Adya Barthwhal said.
Online games have a lot of influence as technology is becoming more and more prevalent in our society. It is no secret that games that test our intellect (to some degree) have amassed millions of online players. People enjoy challenges and the sense of achievement that comes when overcoming those challenges.
Wordle is the epitome of that very philosophy of how endorphins are released when players finally solve the five-letter puzzle.
The Plaid Press 