Wordle is the game everyone’s talking about recently. Recently acquired by the New York Times, the viral sensation has set the world on fire — blowing up on social media, becoming a midnight distraction, and making everyone think of their best five–letter starter. My roommates and I stay up until midnight every night and have a Wordle group chat together, so it’s fair to say we’re all fairly addicted, just like everyone else — as proven by all the memes of people doing Wordle even if they’re out clubbing!
However, the game only releases one word a day for players to guess, so if that doesn’t satisfy all your cravings, here are some of the best wordle knock–offs to keep you busy all day long!
QUORDLE
If you want an even bigger challenge or just a Wordle that’s four times as hard, Quordle is here for you! This version has the same mechanics as Wordle, except that it’s four Wordles at once! You get nine guesses to get four words every day, which makes this game more strategically challenging than the traditional version.
Even better, Quordle has a practice mode with innumerable games, so this is a version that you can engage with for hours! If you want Quordle pushed to extreme limits, another option is Octordle, which is exactly what it sounds like: a version that forces you to figure out eight words at once!
ABSURDLE
To quote my roommate, Absurdle is a version of Wordle where the computer hates you. Instead of having a set word you need to guess, Absurdle changes the word every time you guess in a way that gives you as little information as possible. This time, you want to think of the weirdest words possible so that the computer can’t trick you. There’s even an challenge mode that somehow makes this version even more difficult.
The game takes at least four guesses to succeed at, and it’s also a version with no daily limit, so play as much as you want!
Lewdle
This is one of my favorite versions, and one I think is far more challenging than Wordle! As per its very revealing game, Lewdle is the Wordle of lewd words. Test out how much of your adolescence you wasted scrolling through urban dictionary and guess the dirty word (whether vulgar or sexual) of the day.
The hardest part of this version is that not only is the word of the day a dirty word, all your guesses have to be lewd words as well — so your vocabulary has to be…quite niche to really succeed ;)
WORLDLE
One of the most popular themed versions of this game, this is basically wordle for geography nerds. Instead of guessing words, you’re instead guessing the name of a country based on its silhouette. Test your geography and current events with Worldle (the name is as clever as the game itself!).
Nerdle
Like Worldle, this is a version of the game that steps away from the vocabulary theme. Instead, this is for the math nerds out there. Instead of guessing a five–letter word, you’re trying to guess a 8–unit new equation every day. This includes numbers and operations, and it’s great for people who want the Wordle, experience but find their strengths are more suited to math than English.
Because of how popular wordle is, there’s a ton of versions even beyond this list, though they aren’t ones I’ve personally tried. There’s a plethora of themed wordless out there, from a Taylor Swift version called taylordle to a Lord of the Rings themed game called, cleverly, Lordle of the Rings. You can even check out Wordle in different languages, like this super cool kanji version.
Have fun playing versions of the newest viral sensation on the internet, a game that’s been surprisingly good at bringing people together.