Category Archives: Puzzle games

Worldle, Sweardle, Byrdle? A guide to the maze of word game apps that aren’t Wordle

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Whether you are frustrated by the smash hit puzzle, or hungry for more, there are endless alternatives out there - but which are the best?

The debate continues to rage among Wordle players: has the New York Times ruined it? Why are there suddenly so many double-letter days (SWILL, seriously?); so many frustrating solutions that hinge on a single, ambiguous letter? And what about “caulk”? Has something changed? Or are people just losing interest? Since Wordle caught the world’s attention, there has been a fast-flowing stream of copycats and humorous takes on the word-guessing game, based on everything from swearing (Sweardle) to choral music (Byrdle) to geography (Worldle). If you’re looking for something different, though, rather than just an inventive twist on the same theme, the Android and Apple app stores have many other word games you can play on your phone. Fans have been quietly enjoying some of these for years – some offer a daily five or 10 minutes of puzzle fun, while others let you sink as much time into them as you want.

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Spawn of Wordle: five of the best riffs on the hit word game

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Josh Wardle’s viral puzzle game has inspired a horde of imitators, based on anything from geography to Taylor Swift fandom

First Wordle was a grassroots hit that went viral, then the the online word puzzle was bought by the New York Times for a seven-figure sum, and now it has spawned legions of imitators.

From Nerdle to Worldle, the simple format has been copied in dozens of new ways in recent weeks, sometimes to satisfy urges unfulfilled by the original, such as the opportunity to play more than once a day, but also to step up the challenge, profit from online advertising, or tap into niche interests.

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What in the world is happening to our beloved Wordle?

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Fans say the puzzle is getting harder, with some swearing they’ve had enough. We look at the psychology behind the game’s appeal and the rising discontent among players

It started as a token of love, then went viral, and now it’s making people angry. If you noticed that “token”, “viral” and “angry” are all five-letter words, then the chances are you’re a devotee of Wordle, the online word puzzle that has become an internet craze.

For those who have just returned from walking across the Sahel, Wordle is a game in which you have to guess, or work out, a five-letter word. Each day there is a new word. You can have six attempts, and each correct letter selected is awarded a yellow square. If it’s also in the correct place, it’s a green square. All other letters get a grey square.

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Urdu, Chinese, even Old Norse: how Wordle spread across the globe

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Non-English speakers may soon rival the millions playing the original version of the viral word game

It only took two days for Louan Bengmah’s French-language version of the viral Wordle game to run into trouble. His online dictionary threw up “slush”, Québécois slang that was essentially an English word co-opted in North America.

French players hoping to join the hundreds of thousands of English speakers cluttering up social media with boastful grids showing how quickly they had guessed a mystery word, were frustrated.

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Will Wordle still be free after the New York Times buyout?

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Will the hit game imminently be locked behind a paywall or stay as it is? What about ads? The NYT’s head of games explains the plan

In a month of spectacular video game industry buyouts, symbolised by Microsoft’s incredible $68bn swoop for Activision Blizzard, there is one purchase that has sent paroxysms of fear across the planet. On Monday, the New York Times revealed that it had bought the viral megahit Wordle for a “low seven figure sum”. The web-based word puzzle, which launched in October, was originally intended as a gift from software engineer Josh Wardle to his partner. But it has become a viral sensation, amassing an audience of millions – and key to its appeal is the fact that it’s free, with no ads.

So what does a big newspaper like the New York Times want with a game like Wordle, and what happens next?

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Wordle creator overwhelmed by global success of hit puzzle

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Josh Wardle developed game to play with his partner – and now more than 2m others have joined in

Wordle, a deceptively simple online word puzzle, has had a meteoric rise since its launch last autumn, from 90 daily players in November to 300,000 at the beginning of January, to 2 million last weekend. But, for its creator, the game’s rapid success has resulted in as much anxiety as excitement.

The game has become an unexpected grassroots hit for Josh Wardle, who developed it for his puzzle-loving partner. The pair played it for fun on their sofa, and other users slowly began to join them.

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Resident Evil Village review – nerve-shredding descent into horror

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PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X; Capcom
The action careers superbly through spooky gothic castles and underground complexes where monsters and a bloodsucking femme fatale lie in wait

It has been four years since Resident Evil 7 rescued the series from its action-heavy nadir and returned to the roots of survival horror: jump scares, and elaborate puzzles involving unattractive oil paintings. Now, Village seeks to bring back some of the gunplay introduced in Resident Evil 4 without losing the tension and dread. The result is a delightfully schlocky survival horror adventure that makes constant references to earlier games – and will bring much joy to fans.

Things start on an eerily domestic note, with Resident Evil 7 protagonist Ethan Winters and his wife Mia attempting to recover from their horrific experiences in isolated rural Louisiana by moving to … isolated rural eastern Europe. After a gruesome opening, in which Mia is shot and their baby kidnapped, Ethan must set out to discover what fresh hell he has landed in this time. You start out exploring the village of the title, a squalid, diseased little place, all cackling crones and mad-eyed yokels with shotguns, like some nightmarish Borat remake directed by Eli Roth. Most of the inhabitants have been slaughtered by four monstrous local lords at the behest of a cruel demigod. To save his daughter, Ethan must track these bizarre aristocratic sociopaths down to their lairs and kill them.

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10 short video games to play with your partner (or housemate)

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From detective missions to prison breakouts, playful puzzles to cosy diversions, here are some great games perfect for two

As the long, boring Covid winter drags on and sitting in front of Netflix together has long since lost its appeal, video games remain one of the few social pleasures allowed to us. Though most of the best multiplayer games are online – meaning you need two consoles at home if you want to join someone you live with – there are still plenty you can enjoy together on the couch. Some of these recommendations are two-player games you can play cooperatively, others are shorter story-based games that are fun to play with company, and all will happily fill an evening or two.

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