Gaming is a huge part of today’s world, whether you’re playing  a console or a mobile game. Last year it was “Among Us” and this year it’s Wordle.

 Wordle was created by Josh Wardle and PresoNus Games and it is published by New York Times.  You have six chances to guess the day’s secret five-letter word. Type in a word and the game tells you which letters are or aren’t in the word. The goal is to figure out the secret word with the fewest guesses. 

Unlike most mobile games, you can only play it once a day. The most special part of this game is that everyone is playing the same puzzle and the puzzle refreshes everyday. This makes people feel more connected to each other. The Washington Post states that over 900,000 people play Wordle worldwide. It’s a game where everyone in the world can play together. 

The game is a hit among high school students, especially among Alisal students. Senior Leonel Garibay-Estrada said, “I appreciate that everyone in the world gets the same puzzle and it feels good to be a part of the community that got to solve the same puzzle.” 

Students also find Worlde to be an  excellent tool to exercise their critical thinking. “After working on trying to figure out a word, it feels really rewarding to finally solve the puzzle,” said senior Arih Mendez. Both Garibay and Mendez said that their problem solving skills have gotten better since playing Wordle, as well as improving their vocabulary.

Although there were some cons to constantly playing games such as Wordle, the pros outweigh the cons. According to the article, “How games like Wordle can improve brain health,”  it says puzzles and games, especially those involving novelty, can stimulate and challenge key parts of the brain, including reasoning, language, logic, visual perception, attention and problem-solving. They can also help slow or prevent declines in cognitive health. 

These types of puzzles also help with signs of anxiety and help students distress.  “After stressing with school all day, it feels good to relax with Wordle, it distracts me from everyday tasks,” Alberto Castro said.

Due to its popularity, Wordle has spawned many copycats, with over 20 in the Google Play store and over 10 in the Apple Store. Some are even called Wordle or some variation, not to mention sites devoted to trying to help solve it, as well as a math version called, Nerdle, and the newest version called Globle, dedicated to geography. Anthony Reyes states, “I don’t really play these variations, because you can’t outdo the classic.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.