The New York Times’ free mini game, Wordle, gained popularity in late December 2021. The game’s objective is to guess the 5-letter pre-determined word by The New York Times in six tries or less.

To start, a player will guess a random 5-letter  word such as, “tree.” The gray letters indicate that they are not in the word, the yellow mean they are somewhere within the word but not that current spot, while the green letters have been correctly guessed.

This game restarts everyday with a new word and opportunities to learn one randomized 5-letter word. Some words, such as, “belie,” “leery” and “tryst,” are not commonly used in conversation and can be difficult to guess. Vocabulary, spelling and the ability to guess the words increases the appeal for the game.

A record of the games played, winning streaks, percentage won, etc., is shown at the end of the game to highlight the player’s statistics. Statistics can even show how many times someone guessed a word the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth time. This way, players can compare with others and see which person beat the game in less guesses.

The game can also spur extra research into the word and its meaning. The Wordle word from Sun, Apr. 23, “unzip,” is a 5-letter word that means to unfasten the zipper of (an item of clothing), according to Oxford Dictionary. For example, “He unzipped his black jacket.”

The New York Times not only has Wordle for a mini game, but others that are also word themed. Spelling Bee involves players must make different words with a select seven letters; the catch is, they must all contain one of the seven letters in every word. The crossword, which the New York Times is known for, is available in a limited capacity and must be bought if the player wants to do all puzzles.

Wordle is a fun game to play when one is bored or to challenge a friend. When players do not get the word within the six guesses, the game reveals the word and the player can try again tomorrow. Hopefully guessing will be easier then.