If you've spent any time on the internet lately, you know that Wordle has taken over.
Our obsession has been endlessly analyzed and dissected. We've shared strategies and tips. It has been meme-ed and shared all over Twitter. It was even bought by the New York Times. And of course our insatiable appetite for the simple puzzle game has been the catalyst for multiple Wordle clones. Here's a roundup of our favorites.
1. Absurdle
If Wordle isn't enough of a challenge, this one will have you stumped. It's even hard to understand how it works, but a previous Mashable article breaks it down: "Instead of starting with a secret word that players work their way towards, Absurdle doesn't have a single word up its sleeve," Sam Haysom explains. "The game starts with 2,315 possibilities and responds to each of your guesses by keeping the maximum number of potential secret words in its back pocket, forcing you to narrow its options down until you essentially trap the AI into only having one word left." Truly diabolical.
2. Dordle, Quordle, Octordle, and Sedecordle
First there was Dordle which is playing two words at the same time. But the one-upmanship didn't stop there. Instead the clones multiplied at a feverish pace. Next came Quordle, which is four words, then Octordle, which is eight, and now we actually have Sedecordle which is playing 16 words at the same time. Utter chaos.
3. Lewdle
It was only a matter of time before someone came up with a NSFW version of Wordle. For those of us who instinctively jump to an inappropriate five-letter word, welcome to Lewdle, you need not get your mind out of the gutter.
4. Primel
This is technically a game, but for the mathematically-challenged, it's an instrument of torture. With Primel, the goal is to guess a five-digit prime number instead of a five-letter word. The mere thought of a five-digit prime number is panic-inducing, but to each their own.
5. Sweardle
Similar to Lewdle, Sweardle zeroes in on the human tendency to be inappropriate. The major difference is that it uses four-letter words instead of five. It may sound easy, but you'll soon realize that the the lexicon of colorful language is quite extensive.
6. Queerdle
Self-described as the "yassification of wordle," Queerdle challenges your knowledge of LGBTQ+ vocabulary. Everything is basically the same as the original Wordle, except the words vary between four and eight letters and is sometimes two words. Why? "Because queerness can't be contained," according to the instructions by creator Jordan Bouvier.
7.Taylordle
Making a Wordle clone is now becoming requisite for any stan community. And Swifties are nothing if not the ultimate stans. Using the same rules as the original, Taylordle is played with album titles, song lyrics, or really any Taylor Swift trivia, i.e. "scarf." IYKYK.
8. Wordle-BTS
Not to be outdone by the Taylor Swift fandom, there's also a version for K-pop band BTS, and the Army is already hooked. The rules of the game are the same, except with BTS-themed vocab. The tiles turn purple instead of green, which is of course a reference to the phrase "I Purple You."
9. Wordle Unlimited
If you've tackled the original Wordle, and all the Wordle clones, there's Wordle Unlimited. It's just like the game we know and love, except with unlimited words, so you don't have to wait an entire day to play again. Plus, this version has a feature where you can enter a custom word and play with friends. Wordle purists might scoff, but we won't "JUDGE."
10. Searchdle
Gleefully mocking the futility of SEO strategy, the rules of Searchdle are as follows: "Word length varies wildly (like SEO advice.) Words are random (like SEO data) but you can share your particular word with a friend (like SEO spam.)" It's fun in a laughing-through-the-tears kind of way.
11. Jewdle
For a word game based on vocabulary knowledge, it's only fitting that there's now a version celebrating Jewish culture's contribution. Even if you're not Jewish, Hebrew and Yiddish words are so ubiquitous that you'll probably be able to make a few guesses. Mazel tov.
12. Star Wordle
The Star Wars franchise has one of the most legendary followings of all time, so it's no surprise that this fandom would jump on the Wordle bandwagon. Using vocabulary from Wookieepedia this version will test your knowledge of the galaxy far far away.
13. Heardle
For the musically-inclined, this one is for you. Listen to just a second of music's intro and guess the song. Each time you guess incorrectly, Heardle adds more of the song which brings down your score. You can also choose to add a second to the music for additional help. Plus, you get to listen to the whole song once when you guess right.
14. Worldle and Globle
These two Wordle spinoffs put your geographic skills to the test. Kind of like the game GeoGuessr, as Mashable's Belen Edwards points out, the goal of Worldle is to guess the country based on its outlined border. You get six guesses and with each incorrect guess, the game gives you hints with the geographic distance and direction from the answer.
With Globle, the goal is also to guess the correct country, but instead of beginning with the outline of a country, you start the game by guessing any country at random. The closer you are the correct country, the redder or "hotter" the guesses become.
This article was published in February 2022 and was updated in March 2022.
