In October 2021, software engineer Josh Wardle uploaded his creation to the world—Wordle™. This once-a-day online game gives players six tries to identify a five-letter word, while offering clues and confirmations about which letters go where. Wardle's Wordle soon went from a gift he had designed for his sweetheart to a phenomenon played by millions at home, school, and work.

Question

"Even though I play it every day, I still feel a sense of accomplishment when I do it," Wardle told The Guardian.

The chance to practice their smarts is why so many people love word games, and Wordle follows in the grand tradition of crossword puzzles, Scrabble®, and word searches. Logophiles from first-grade classrooms to retirement communities play them faithfully to cultivate vocabulary and stimulate their brains—research shows that word games are excellent ways to exercise the mind and boost memory. Here's how a few favorites went from rudimentary ideas to household words.

Crossword Puzzles

Cruciverbalists, better known as crossword fans, owe their favorite game to a newspaper editor named Arthur Wynne. In 1913, he wanted a new diversion for the FUN section of the New York World. He drew a grid of numbered squares matched with clues and christened it "FUN's Word-Cross Puzzle." A typographical error subsequently renamed the game "Crossword Puzzle," and the transposition stuck. Wynne's winning creation quickly became a craze, and newspapers around the country developed their own versions.

One exception was the New York Times, which in one 1924 editorial demeaned crosswords as "a primitive sort of mental exercise." The famed newspaper held out until 1942, when it finally launched its own. Ironically, many crossword connoisseurs now consider the Times puzzle the crème de la crème of the genre.

Scrabble

Alfred Mosher Butts claimed he wasn't good at spelling, but that didn't impede his invention of the quintessential board game for wordsmiths. The Great Depression of the 1930s left the architect unemployed, so he began toying with game ideas. His vision was to design a crossword-like word game that assigned points to the different letters and could be scored for competitive play. He called it "Criss-Cross Words" and sold a limited number, but every major game manufacturer rebuffed the concept. Then he met James Brunot, who helped Butts refine the rules and come up with the catchier name the game bears today.

Scrabble's big score came in 1952. According to legend, an executive with Macy's department stores encountered the game while on vacation, decided to stock it, and soon customers were scrabbling for a set of their own. In total, Scrabble has sold 150 million copies in 29 languages, and is found in three out of five American homes, according to Hasbro, the game's manufacturer.

Word Search

In 1968, Norman E. Gibat, the publisher of Selenby Digest in Norman, Oklahoma, inserted a word game in his publication to entertain readers while they stood in line at the grocery store. He concealed the names of Oklahoma cities in a grid of letters and challenged readers to find them. Thus, Word Search was born and quickly became popular among area teachers, who spread the word to colleagues elsewhere. (About the same time, Spanish game-maker Pedro Ocón de Oro invented an identical game dubbed Sopa de Letras—"Soup of Letters"—and he often shares credit for developing the idea.)

Gibat's digest folded in 1970, and he had no interest in continuing its most popular feature. But by then word searches had taken on a life of their own, going by names like "Seek and Circle" and "Mystery Word." Word Search games remain wildly popular and a staple for educators seeking engaging ways to reinforce vocabulary.

Time will tell if Wordle joins the ranks of these legendary word games, though fame was never the motivation for its developer. As Wardle told the New York Times: "I think people kind of appreciate that there's this thing online that's just fun."

Think about and discuss these questions:
Which word game sounds most interesting to you and why?
What do you think is the secret to making a popular word game?

Why do you think word games have enjoyed long-term popularity? Cite evidence from the article and use your own reasoning in your response.

Answer 1

Personally, I find Scrabble to be the most interesting word game. The blend of strategy, vocabulary challenge, and competitive spirit appeals to me. It's not just about identifying words; it involves carefully considering how to maximize points and control the board. The tactical element of placing words to block opponents or take advantage of premium squares adds layers of engagement that can lead to exciting gameplay.

The secret to making a popular word game lies in several factors. First, the game should be easy to understand yet challenging enough to keep players engaged. It also helps if the game fosters social interaction, allowing players to bond over their shared experience. Additionally, games like Scrabble and Wordle have mechanics that encourage repeated play—whether through a daily challenge or competitive scoring.

Word games have enjoyed long-term popularity for multiple reasons. Based on the article, research shows these games stimulate the brain and enhance vocabulary development, making them attractive to a wide demographic range, from children to seniors. The article mentions how “word games are excellent ways to exercise the mind and boost memory,” indicating their educational value. Furthermore, the simplicity and accessibility of games like Crossword Puzzles and Word Searches allow them to be played in diverse contexts—whether casually, in the classroom, or in a competitive setting. They remain appealing because they challenge the mind while also providing a fun escape from daily routines.

Ultimately, the combination of cognitive benefits, social interaction, and the thrill of competition seems to create lasting enjoyment, ensuring that word games like Scrabble, Crossword Puzzles, and, more recently, Wordle, maintain their popularity.