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.
ON A 8TH GRADER LEVEL

Answer 1

Which word game sounds most interesting to you and why?

I find Wordle the most interesting word game. It's simple yet challenging because you only get six tries to guess a five-letter word, and each attempt gives you clues about the letters in the word. The excitement of figuring out the word with limited tries feels rewarding. Plus, it's a daily game that everyone plays on the same day, creating a sense of community among players who can share their experiences and strategies.

What do you think is the secret to making a popular word game?

I believe the secret to creating a popular word game lies in a mix of simplicity, challenge, and social interaction. A good word game should be easy to understand so that anyone can jump in and play, like how Wordle is played in just a few minutes. It should provide enough challenge to keep players engaged, perhaps through varying difficulty levels or time limits. Finally, having a social aspect, whether it’s sharing scores or discussing strategies, helps players feel connected and keeps them coming back for more.

Why do you think word games have enjoyed long-term popularity?

Word games have enjoyed long-term popularity for several reasons. First, they stimulate the mind and help improve vocabulary and cognitive skills, which is appealing to people of all ages. The article mentions that research shows word games are excellent ways to exercise the mind and boost memory, meaning they have educational benefits along with being fun.

Additionally, word games offer a sense of accomplishment and challenge, as noted by Josh Wardle’s quote in the article: “Even though I play it every day, I still feel a sense of accomplishment when I do it.” This feeling keeps players motivated to play regularly.

Finally, word games have a timeless quality; they can be enjoyed alone or with others, making them versatile for different social situations, as seen with games like Scrabble and Word Search. These aspects contribute to their lasting appeal, making them more than just a passing trend.