Wordle doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon. If you have been on the Internet as of late, chances are, you’ve heard of the viral word game. If you see green-yellow, and grey boxes, you’ve come across Wordle. But if you haven’t heard of Wordle, it’s a daily word game that resembles a crossword puzzle, and a new word comes out every day, and you must find out what the word of the day is. You have only six chances to guess a five-letter word. If you guess the right letter in the correct spot, the letter will be green. The right letter in the wrong spot is yellow. Lastly, if you guess a letter that is not in the word, the spot will be grey.

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It may sound simple, but it has grabbed the attention of many users and has taken the Internet by storm. According to The New York Times, there are around 300,000 people that play this game every day. So how did it become so popular? There are several things to keeping mind when understanding the virality of this word puzzle. First, there is just one puzzle each day, so there is some risk involved since you only get one chance. If you don’t guess the correct word, you will have t wait until the next day. Another reason is that users each play the very same puzzle. This allows people to create buzz around the game and discuss who struggled or who succeeded that day.

Lastly, you can share your results. After you have completed the word of the day, you have the option to share it, whether you won or not. Once you share it, it doesn’t show the word, only your journey of how you got to your answer, so there is no spoiling. So although one might think Wordle is just another crossword puzzle of sorts, think again. Wordle has been able to gain popularity because it starts a discussion and people have the opportunity to share it on social media. Wordle was created by a software engineer by the name of Josh Wardle, who was the man behind a social experiment called Place back in 2017. Wardle said the “game has gotten bigger than I ever imagined,” and for good reason. So if you are into puzzles and words, give Wordle a try.