Full disclosure: I am a word nerd, former middle school spelling bee champ.
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who Wordle and those who don’t.
If you don’t Wordle, you’re rolling your eyes right now. Whatever. I’m sad for you that you’re missing out on all the fun. If you do Wordle, you just got a little bit excited.
See, you don’t even have to play to get a wee hit of joy, you just have to think about it.
Do I even have to tell you that Wordle is an online game where you have 6 tries to guess a five-letter word?
Wordle is a fast hit of joy: you open up the game, you guess a word, then another word, repeat, repeat, until you win (or you don’t, womp-womp).
It’s quick: you’re in, you’re out, you get a win under your belt, then you’re part of a tribe of humans who have had the same experience with the same word. Boom, boom, boom. Little. Tiny. Pop. Of joy.
There is actual science behind why Wordle gives you a hit of dopamine, the feel-good neurotransmitter in charge of rewards and motivation.
The act of playing the game creates a sense of flow, or the feeling of being “in the zone.” This happens when we concentrate on a challenge that is equal to our skills and which offers an intrinsic reward. Achieving and entering a flow state doles out some dopamine.
Additionally, the act of being creative and exercising your insightful muscles also sends out dopamine.
But then, that a-ha moment, when you finally get the word right? That’s another little hit of dopamine. You did it. You won a game!
But wait—there’s more.
There is only one Wordle per day. Yes, yes, there are copycats, but we’re not looking at them. Your sister-in-law in Brighton, England is working out the same Wordle as your bestie in Seattle, as you and the rando on the train next to you. We’re all working towards the same goal, solving the same puzzle.
That means that when you Wordle, you’re part of a community of millions.1 It’s a loose association, but a kinship none-the-less. Wordle chat is an easy means of connecting with another human in a meaningful way, free from consequence (unless your streak is on the line).
Wordler’s aren’t working against each other, for the most part, but play to better their own score, to further their streak.2
A few days ago, Wordle dished up a very difficult word that in a common configuration could’ve had seven possible answers—which is problematic in that you only get six tries. After successfully completing the puzzle I, an infrequent FB poster, made a sentence using all of the possible words. It was kind of an experiment. Would anyone get it? There were no actual spoilers, since I never indicated which word it was.
My peeps, they got the assignment and posted their scores/struggles.
I Wordle first thing in the morning, usually while I’m still in bed. Immediately, I share my results with my sisters. That’s part of the design of Wordle, a non-spoiler sharing option built right in, so even though you’re playing alone, you're not playing alone.
The sharing with friends and being part of a big group, that, my friend, is giving you a hit of serotonin and maybe even a boost of oxytocin, two more neurotransmitters responsible for bringing joy and happiness into your life. We all need more joy and happiness in our lives, more human connection.
So yeah, the world may be burning up around us but at least we can get a small win under our belts.
For more of this word nerd happiness, see also Spelling Bee, Connections, and Strands.
It’s not for everyone, I get it. But if you haven’t tried, give it a shot. It’s free.
For all of you Words with Friends people saying what about me: In WwF, you have an opponent. You’re competing against another person to win. You’re employing tactics and strategies to find your opponent’s weaknesses. That hits different. I don't see that feeling as untethered joy, but something else entirely, something with darker base notes. The games are longer than a few minutes, possible days or weeks. Every game is specific to only the people playing that particular match, and you can have as many as 50 games going at any time; whereas Wordle, et al are universal, we are all faced with the same challenge each day.
There will always be the super-competitive assholes who mess things up for the rest of us, fuck ‘em.
I like atone as it has the most common letters, or arose to get that S. I love it, play in the morning while waiting for the tea to brew. I usually post my result on Twitter mainly so I can keep track and one day I got the dreaded x/6 and a friend said oh that’s a shame I assume you’ll not play any more. Why would I stop? That little jolt of joy when the tiles turn green, especially on the third (or even second) row!
I guess Shart first. It hasn’t been the word yet but one day I’m going to get a bingo