How Wordle won the internet

Wordle is a simple, web-based word game where players have six attempts to guess a five-letter word, with minimal gamification and no login requirements, allowing only one play per day. The game's sudden popularity in late 2021 led to its acquisition by The New York Times for a low seven-figure sum, reflecting its successful design that prioritizes simplicity, accessibility, and time-respectful gameplay. Created by Josh Wardle for his partner Palak Shah, Wordle's appeal lies in its straightforward user experience, including an embedded keyboard and a high contrast color mode for accessibility, and its viral sharing feature that allows players to display their results as a spoiler-free emoji grid. The game has sparked discussions and community engagement, inspiring numerous variations and homages, while its scalable design, initially hosted independently and later moved to Cloudflare and Amazon S3, ensured it could handle the influx of players. Despite its rapid rise, Josh Wardle chose not to pursue venture funding to maintain the game's original appeal, leaving its future under The New York Times' ownership an open question while continuing to influence web creators worldwide.