History of Wordle in Timeline

Wordle is a popular web-based word game where players attempt to guess a five-letter word in six tries. After each guess, tiles change color to show correct letters and their positions. A new word is released daily, with all players working to solve the same puzzle. It was created by Josh Wardle and inspired by the game Mastermind.

1955: Inspiration from Jotto

In 1955, the pen-and-paper game Jotto was created and Wordle is conceptually and stylistically similar to it.

2013: Early Wordle Prototype: Mr. Bugs' Wordy Nugz

In 2013, Josh Wardle created an early prototype of Wordle, initially called Mr. Bugs' Wordy Nugz. This prototype allowed players to solve puzzles consecutively and was inspired by the board game Mastermind.

2014: Prototype Completion

By 2014, Wardle had completed the prototype but eventually lost interest and set it aside.

January 2021: Wordle Published on the Web

By January 2021, Wardle had published Wordle on the web, initially sharing it only with himself and his partner, Palak Shah. He named it Wordle as a pun on his surname.

October 2021: Initial Sharing with Relatives and Friends

In October 2021, Josh Wardle introduced Wordle to close friends after sharing it with his relatives. The game began spreading virally in mid-October 2021.

October 2021: Public Release and Initial Popularity

In October 2021, Wordle was publicly released after being developed as a personal project. The release of Wordle in October 2021 marked the start of the game's growth.

November 1, 2021: Player Base Growth

On November 1, 2021, Wordle had 90 players.

December 2021: Viral Phenomenon on Twitter

In late December 2021, after adding the sharing function, Wordle became a viral phenomenon on Twitter.

January 2, 2022: Player Base Growth to 300,000

By January 2, 2022, Wordle's player base had grown to over 300,000 players.

January 5, 2022: New York Times Reaches Out to Josh Wardle

On January 5, 2022, Jonathan Knight, head of the New York Times games department, first contacted Josh Wardle, just two days after Wordle was featured in a New York Times article.

January 2022: Acquisition by The New York Times Company

In January 2022, The New York Times Company acquired Wordle for a low seven-figure sum. The game remained free but underwent changes such as the removal of offensive words and the introduction of account logins.

January 2022: Wordle Adapted into Other Languages

In January 2022, after Wordle's viral popularity among English-speaking users, it was quickly adapted into numerous other languages. Hannah Park's open-source version was modified by linguist Aiden Pine to accommodate different character sets, Pine also published a free step-by-step blog on how to create a custom Wordle.

January 2022: Ad-Supported Wordle Clones Appear and are Removed

In January 2022, numerous ad-supported Wordle clones surfaced on Apple's App Store, often mimicking the original name and gameplay. However, by the end of January 2022, nearly all of these clones were removed. The New York Times filed a trademark application for 'Wordle' and issued DMCA takedown notices against GitHub repositories hosting clone source code and initiated legal action against 'Worldle'.

January 31, 2022: New York Times Company Acquires Wordle

On January 31, 2022, the New York Times Company acquired Wordle from Josh Wardle for an undisclosed price in the low-seven figures. The acquisition was finalized by the end of the month.

February 2022: Wordles of the World Project Documents Adaptations

By February 2022, the collaborative project Wordles of the World documented 350 Wordle-inspired games and resources across several languages. These include adaptations in historical and regional dialects, indigenous languages, and languages without alphabetic writing systems.

March 2022: Peak in Wordle's Player Count

In March 2022, Wordle's player count peaked.

March 31, 2022: Increase in Players on The New York Times Puzzle Site and App

According to the New York Times quarterly earnings report ending on March 31, 2022, the acquisition of Wordle brought "tens of millions" of new players to the New York Times puzzle site and app.

April 7, 2022: WordleBot Launched by The New York Times

On April 7, 2022, WordleBot was launched by the New York Times to give players information about how they completed their Wordle on that day, giving a luck and skill rating.

May 2022: Removal of "fetus" from Solution List

In May 2022, the word "fetus" was removed from the Wordle solution list following the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

July 2022: Seven Words Removed from Wordle Answers

By July 2022, a total of seven words had been removed from the original 2,315 Wordle answers, causing the New York Times version to become unsynchronized with older, cached versions of the game.

July 2022: Spotify Acquires Heardle

In July 2022, Spotify acquired Heardle, a music-identification game that adopted the "-le" suffix signaling a connection to Wordle.

August 24, 2022: Wordle Added to The New York Times Crossword App

On August 24, 2022, Wordle was added to The New York Times Crossword app, with progress synced across mobile and desktop versions.

October 2022: Release of Wordle: The Party Game

In October 2022, Hasbro released Wordle: The Party Game, a physical board game adaptation of the online game, designed for two to four players.

November 2022: Tracy Bennett Appointed as Wordle's Dedicated Editor

In November 2022, The New York Times appointed Tracy Bennett as Wordle's dedicated editor, responsible for selecting the daily word from a curated list.

2022: Emergence of Wordle Clones

Following Wordle's rapid rise in early 2022, numerous clones emerged, some introducing novel twists to the game's logic, such as Absurdle. Other clones retained Wordle's mechanics but altered the word list, including translations into other languages and themed variations such as Sweardle and Weddle.

2022: App Store Game Wordle! Surge in Downloads Due to Name Confusion

In 2022, an unrelated game called Wordle! by Steven Cravotta experienced a surge in downloads due to name confusion with Wardle's Wordle. Between January 5 and 12, 2022, Cravotta's game was downloaded over 200,000 times, and Cravotta partnered with Wardle to donate $50,000 in proceeds to a tutoring charity.

January 2023: Merriam-Webster Acquires Quordle

In January 2023, Merriam-Webster acquired Quordle, which involves solving four puzzles simultaneously and expanded Wordle's challenge.

January 2023: Tracy Bennett Explains Word Selection Process

In January 2023, Tracy Bennett explained that while the words are initially chosen at random, she reviews each selection for suitability, removing words that have secondary meanings that could be considered profane or derogatory.

March 2023: Game Developers Conference Insights

At the March 2023 Game Developers Conference, New York Times producer Zoe Bell shared insights into Wordle's lasting impact on the company's other online games, noting that Wordle's popularity has driven increased engagement with other New York Times games.