Since becoming a viral sensation during COVID-19, Wordle has kept players everywhere guessing with its daily puzzles.
Created by Josh Wardle in 2021, the game was never meant to be more than a couple's pastime for the software engineer and his partner, Palak Shah. However, the Brooklyn-based developer realized that other puzzle nerds might enjoy Wordle, uploading the game to the web that October.
In November 2021, Wordle had 91 players. By January 2022, that figure had risen to more than 2 million.
Wardle credited the game's success to its simplicity, with users having only six guesses to figure out that five-letter word.
"There is a reason that every word is five letters long and that you are allowed six attempts to guess it," Wardle told Newsweek in January 2022, shortly before the game was snapped up by The New York Times.
"That might seem arbitrary but, with the prototype version, I tested different word lengths and experimented with the number of tries that players were allowed.
"Through that process of refinement, I figured out that five letters and six tries was the ideal sweet spot. It's just limited enough to feel challenging and to make you think, but most of the time people still manage to solve it. So, you feel a real sense of real accomplishment."
However, the fact that users can only solve one puzzle a day has also contributed to Wordle's longevity.
"The idea to impose a limitation came when my partner and I started getting into crosswords during the pandemic," he explained. "In particular, The New York Times have this puzzle called Spelling Bee, which has this once-a-day model that I thought was really effective.
"I liked the idea that everyone around the world was trying to solve the exact same word at the exact same time. It created a shared communal experience [if] there were multiple puzzles to solve and everyone was at a different stage, then there wouldn't be that kind of conversation, which I think is the most fulfilling part of Wordle."
If you're finding today's Wordle puzzle tricky, Newsweek has gathered a few hints to help you figure out the answer.
'Wordle' #1,048, Clues for Thursday, May 2
Hint #1: There are two vowels in today's Wordle puzzle.
Hint #2: There are no repeated letters.
Hint #3: The third letter is a vowel.
Hint #4: The second letter is a consonant.
Hint #5: The answer begins with an "S."
'Wordle' #1,048, Answer for Thursday, May 2
The answer to today's Wordle is "Slice."
Wordle resets at midnight in your local time zone, but until then, why not give these other word puzzle games a go?
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Sophie is a Newsweek Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in Lincoln, UK. Her focus is reporting on film and ... Read more
