Did you know that there are 158,390 5-letter words in existence? Suddenly Wordle seems a lot harder! 

Wordle is a game where players try to guess a five-letter word. This popular game has captivated so many students (and teachers, too) at Longfellow that it is no longer just a game but a competitive sport. A fight almost broke out in my English class over the best starting word, and a dreaded high try count or low streak might result in some teasing.

It all started on February 10th when the New York Times bought Wordle. The New York Times is a popular newspaper, so once they made the daily Wordle available, many new people started to play. 

“My mom read about it in the New York Times and really liked it, and she wanted me to join,” said 8th grader Patrick F., a daily Wordle player.

Wordle has grown from a small game to a nationwide competition between family and friends, or even against yourself. Families do joint sessions helping each other to get lower scores or competitions where the winner doesn’t have to do chores. I’ve done these and other things with friends and family.

“I like how it’s challenging,” explained Patrick. “I  like how there’s another one each day, and everyone has the same one, so you can talk to your friends about it and work together on it.”

But Wordle isn’t limited to just word games; there’s Globle, Worldle, and many others.

These variants have also captured the attention of students and teachers. Some even enjoy these more than the original Wordle. There are so many variations that you can find one that you like and is suitable for you.

Wordle is challenging, though, prompting some people to cheat. I mean, where’s the harm, right?  It’s just a fun game for entertainment. Some people don’t mind as long as the cheater doesn’t ruin it for other people.

“I feel like it’s fine as long as they don’t tell other people the word. It’s just I don’t get the point because it takes the fun away from it,” said Patrick.

  Then there is the camp that believes cheating is wrong on principle or that it defeats the purpose of the game.  

“I initially thought, ‘why bother playing if you’re going to cheat?” said Journalism teacher Andrea Duggan. “Then I asked students what might motivate them to cheat, and it was very eye-opening. Students mentioned reasons such as social status and self-esteem, which hadn’t even occurred to me.”

Regardless of the reason, cheating at Wordle for some people has become an art. They’ve discovered interesting and fun ways to cheat or change the word. The most popular method is to search for the answer. According to Google, “Today’s Wordle” is one of the most searched terms on the internet.

Cheating has become a geographical thing as well. According to the Seattle Times(Link). Most Wordle cheaters lie in the Northeast of the U.S. New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington D.C., Massachusetts, and Maine had the highest number of “today’s Wordle” searches in the last three months.

Another way to cheat is to go into the source page. The source page of Wordle is a very long document, and at the bottom, it has the Wordle words for the next 10,000 days; maybe more, I’m not counting them all.

Wordle (and its variations)  are popular, fun, and slightly addictive. They are competitive and casual. You can cheat or play fair, play alone or with others, but no matter how you play, it’s supposed to be fun.