Dear Gossips,
Happy New Year!
The first celebrity of 2022 isn’t a person…but a game. Did you Wordle yet today? When do you Wordle? First thing in the morning? Or do you save it for a break during the day?
Wordle has become a breakout hit, with thousands of people playing daily and sharing their results on social media. For the record, I am very, very average because I’ve played four times now and I have never been better than 5/6 but I love it for the same reason so many others love it – word puzzles are delightful, it’s a few minutes of brain joy, and unlike almost every program online these days, Wordle isn’t bad for you, there’s no hidden cost. As the New York Times said in a new article about Wordle pushed just this morning, “Wordle Is A Love Story”.
Wordle was created by Josh Wardle out of love, for his partner, Palak Shah, because she loves word games. It started between just the two of them. Then they shared it with friends and family. In October he opened it up to the rest of the world. And now the world is playing Wordle. As Josh told the NYT of his invention, “I think people kind of appreciate that there’s this thing online that’s just fun. It’s not trying to do anything shady with your data or your eyeballs. It’s just a game that’s fun.”
And one of the reasons it’s fun is because you can only do it once a day. Even if you want more – and you will – Wordle isn’t interested, Wordle doesn’t want you to be too obsessed with it, Wordle isn’t here to encourage an addiction. Wordle understands boundaries and is setting them for us, one word and a one day at a time. It’s the perfect pure energy to kick off the year. Can we keep it?
Yours in gossip,
Lainey
