You must’ve heard about Wordle by now, right? Well, if you hadn’t, we’re sorry for wasting your day. It’s about to consume you for a while. If you have heard of it but the five-letter word game is getting stale, then you’ve come to the right place.
Be warned. Once you start playing it’s more difficult to stop than you might think. Especially when you see people posting their blocks and only getting it after five or six guesses. ‘It can’t be that hard’, you’ll murmer as you push aside whatever important thing you were busy with. The next thing you know, it’s lunchtime.
Like most things on the internet these days, it was never going to just stop at Wordle. The number of spinoff games (like South Africa’s own Wortle, which we covered here) is vast but we’re rounded up some of the best of the rest. Just in case you were looking for a little more of the good stuff. But don’t worry, we haven’t spoiled any of them… much. Click on the titles to head to the respective sites to try them out for yourselves. But only if you don’t have anything else to do today. Okay. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Lewdle – A rude alternative
If the original Wordle is too tame for you and you don’t mind being a little naughty, check out Lewdle. It works in exactly the same way as Wordle in every way but one. The words in Lewdle’s lists are those your parents and your pastor feared. It’s why they kept you from watching South Park until you moved out of the house. Don’t be afraid to get wild. If there is a line, we haven’t found it yet. That being said, maybe don’t play this one around small children or people that might ask questions you don’t want to answer.
Quordle – For when you want to show off
If you consistently get Wordle in two or three guesses and are looking for more of a challenge, this is what you need. Quordle has you solve four different Wordles… all at the same time. You get three extra guesses to do it and you’re going to need them. All your guesses count towards all the words so casting a wide net would do you good initially. Its creators must’ve known this one might be a little confusing at first so they were nice enough to make a practice feature. That’ll let you guess without counting towards your progress so you can see how things work and plan a strategy accordingly. Good luck, and try not to break anything when you don’t get all four.
Worldle – Wordle for geography
Worldle is our first major deviant from the established method. Instead of guessing a word of the day, you’ll need to identify a country from the outline of its borders. Then it’ll take your guess and tell you how close or far you were and in which direction you should aim. It also displays blocks that indicate how close your guess was but they aren’t as useful as the Wordle blocks. This one is a lot easier to cheat with, by just opening Google Maps and scrolling around for a bit. Where’s the fun in that?
A Greener Worldle – Because the planet is dying
Just before you start having any fun, we must remind you that the planet is dying and it’s our collective fault. ‘But what can I do? I’m just one person,’ you might ask. Of the very large list of things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint, playing A Greener Worldle probably isn’t one of them. But if the regular Wordle was just too… dirty for you, then you’ll be happy to note A Greener Wordle only uses 100% recycled words. Words that are organically sourced and that have to do with climate change and the environment. Because “…you want the tiles to turn green, just like the planet.”
Absurdle – If you thought you were good at these…
This is a strange one. It works like Wordle in that you need to guess a five-letter word correctly. Only that correct five-letter word can change midway through. The author describes it as an ‘adversarial’ version of Wordle that “is actively trying to avoid giving you the answer.” There’s even a button for a random guess. Do you see what we mean by strange? There’s a separate page for a detailed breakdown of how it works here. There’s also a Tetris derivative that’ll have you punching your screen in further. Which is… fine, if you’re into that.
Murdle – If you needed higher stakes
If you’ve ever played Hangman, Murdle should look familiar. You’re allowed to guess as many times as you’d like. But you’re only allowed to get ten unique letters wrong, or it’s the gallows for you. Ten might seem like a lot but remember, in a five-letter word if you only get one right that’s already four down. The coloured blocks that keep you on the right track work similar to Wordle. Consider your guesses carefully. That poor chap is counting on you. And so are we.
Dundle – Back to the classic, with a slight spin
Dundle is a The Office themed Wordle that’ll accept names, places, or any other five-letter word to do with the American version of the popular mockumentary-style TV show. The only other difference is that correct guesses are shown in purple and not green. Not like you need the encouragement, but this is probably the perfect excuse to rewatch The Office instead of… anything else on your Netflix list. To the great despair of basically everyone in the household. But at least it’s vaguely educational this time. Right? Right?!
Lordle of the Rings – You have my sword. And my guesses
Another twist on the classic, Lordle-OTR — as we call it — borrows pretty much everything from the original game. But it swaps the word list out for something more Tolkein-esque. You’ll need to be on the ball with your Tolkein knowledge because you’re still limited to five letters and six guesses. How you’re supposed to play with one effectively when the average letter length in an average Tolkein novel is like… eleven letters (Númenorean, Glorfindel, Fangorn) is anyone’s guess. Such a pity that Bilbo has two ‘b’s in it. This one doesn’t have a dark mode though so prepare your retinas. Apparently dark mode (which should have been called Mirkwood mode) is for Mordor supporters.