Wordle Craze
New game has hit DT
By: Emily Shimmin
As the more popular word game of 2022, Wordle has hit Doniphan-Trumbull hard. Almost everyone is playing it, from teachers to students, seemingly everyone is working to find the word of the day.
Sophomore Jake Collinson said, “I enjoy this game because it challenges me to think of different words that I would not normally use.”
Wordle is an online 5 letter word game where players are given a new word every day and only 6 tries to guess it. During the guesses, the tiles will change colors to help the player reach the correct word. A grey tile means it is the wrong letter, and it is not included in the word of the day. A yellow tile means it's the right letter but in the wrong spot. A green tile means the right letter in the right spot. Once players have guessed the word correctly, all 5 tiles will turn green. Players get the whole alphabet to pick from, but many have developed a strategy to get started on the right foot.
“In my opinion, the best word to start with is irate,” said Collinson.
In a poll given to DT students, the overwhelming majority of players say they enjoy this game so much because it is challenging and can be shared with friends. It wasn’t long ago that nobody had heard of Wordle, but its popularity is growing with 55% of DT students in grades 9-12 confirming they play wordle daily. The word-puzzle game’s popularity is growing even outside the halls of DT. According to the Guardian, the game has grown from just 90 daily players in November of last year to 300,000 in early January; now more than 2 million players are logging in daily to play.
Freshman Tice Yost said, “I feel like it helps me with learning new words. I also enjoy that I can share it with my friends and family and compete with them.”
There has been some discussion lately with students claiming their peers are cheating at the popular game, but a whopping 82% of students said they never cheat. This game is challenging for all ages, not just kids. Sometimes not all people get the word guessed and not wanting to lose, so they will ask their friends or look it up.
Sophomore Gracie Richter, “It’s a fun game that teases my brain, but sometimes when I’m on the last guess I will look up what the word of the day is.”
One element that makes this game so appealing to audiences of all ages is that it can be shared with friends and family, and 30% of DT students play with others.
Senior Carter Schultz said, “It’s something to look forward to every day and it is also fun to share with your friends and family.”
Teachers also have been playing this new game. Math teacher Ms. Emma Thede and English teacher Mrs. Joy Utecht love the challenge of trying to figure out the daily word puzzles. Thede and Utecht both agree that this is a fun brain teaser game that they love playing daily.
Utecht said, “I got hooked on wordle when my sister texted me to start playing it. I've only played 42 times, with a win percentage of 98 percent.”
As this word game keeps growing around the world, it also keeps growing in school. Most students are already playing this game but its popularity still growing.
Junior Addie Fay said, “Wordle has become one of my new favorite games to play. I love competing with my family and friends.”