What’s in a Wordle?

I sat down to write today, but I had to do my Wordle first.

As I googled NY Times for today’s version of the puzzle, I wondered what I’d write if I wrote about the game.

That it was conceived and sold to the NY Times by a guy named Josh Wardle? That lots of folks think it’s harder since the switch? How it’s a worldwide phenomenon, and that Forbes says the Swedes are the best Wordle players in the world (and English is not their first language)?

Whatever I’d write, it would have to include Wordle’s gift of intergenerational connection: the anticipation of hearing daily from a son or a parent; the funny reality that while you might not receive a text regarding a more pressing issue, you will for sure know when your loved one gets Wordle in 3 guesses or less.

And, as I further pondered the meaning of Wordle from today’s perch in a college coffee shop overlooking the hazy skyline of LA, a young man sat down next to me, shook his head, and asked “Wordle?”

He proceeded to tell me about his frustrations with the game, and with Nerdle and Quordle for that matter. And, in just minutes of chatting, we discovered we were both from San Diego, and that he had graduated from high school the same year as my oldest son. I learned he was a finance major and part-owner of an Oceanside restaurant that is home to the world’s best Bloody Marys (can the Swedes boast that?).

So Wordle is the topic for today and with pleasure.

Through Wordle, we can learn a thing or two about the world.

We can nourish close connections and gain unexpected ones, too.

With whom have you shared your Wordle score today? Or, have you made thinking and connection a habit through any other fun game?

In love, Wordling, and connection,

Molly