It’s the middle of the week, so if you are struggling with Wednesday’s Wordle puzzle, Newsweek is here to help.
The game was invented during the coronavirus lockdown by Josh Wardle, a software engineer who wanted a puzzle “for me and my partner to enjoy.” Wardle released Wordle to the public in October 2021, and it quickly picked up a loyal audience, with some players sharing their results and strategies on social media each day.
Following its public debut, the puzzle exploded from 90 users on November 1, 2021 to 300,000 on January 2, 2022. The New York Times purchased it for an undisclosed seven-figure sum soon after, and it quickly became the publication’s most-popular game.
A large part of Wordle‘s appeal is its simplicity. Players are tasked with guessing a mystery five-letter word—and must do so in six attempts or fewer. They are helped along with a color-coded tile system: …