Green, yellow and gray boxes have filled social media feeds for weeks, leaving folks wondering what it means. The game “Wordle” has become part of people’s daily routine.
“Wordle” is an internet game that is currently trending.
Joni Mae De Los Santos | The Montclarion
Over 1 million people guess the same five-letter word every day with only six tries. After each guess, the boxes change their color, helping the player with their guess. A gray box means the letter is not included in the word, a yellow box means the letter is in the word but not in that position and green means the letter is in the right position.
Since its launch date in November 2021, the game has grown from 90 daily users to over 2 million users in January 2022. However, not all Montclair State University students seem to be playing.
According to a poll of 53 Montclair State students, 65% stated they did not play the game. When reached out for an interview, most noted they only played “Wordle” for a day.
James Franco, a junior biochemistry major, has never heard of the game “Wordle.”
John LaRosa | The Montclarion
James Franco, a junior biochemistry major, has never even heard of the game. He said he has no incentive to play.
“Do you get money if you get [the answer] right?” Franco asked.
Unfortunately, the game does not give the player money.
Unlike Franco, senior journalism major Peter McLaughlin was captivated by the game when he first played.
Peter McLaughlin, a senior journalism major, was captivated by the game when he first played.
John LaRosa | The Montclarion
“My sister came up to me, and she was really frustrated, and she was like, ‘I need to figure out this level,’” McLaughlin said. “I sat there for 20 minutes with her when I had things to do because I got hooked from just that one game.”
McLaughlin guessed complex and random words into the boxes. In the end, he and his sister did not guess correctly within their six tries.
“Turns out the word was ‘favor,’ and I felt really stupid,” McLaughlin said.
For some students, guessing the word is an intimidating feat. Emily Harding, a senior filmmaking major, has heard of the game from her mother who posts her results on Facebook.
Emily Harding, a senior filmmaking major, has heard of the game from her mother.
John LaRosa | The Montclarion
“[‘Wordle’] doesn’t seem like something I’d enjoy,” Harding said. “I’m not great with word games and stuff.”
Serhenna Bazile, a junior film and creative writing major, plays “Wordle” every day.
Joni Mae De Los Santos | The Montclarion
Serhenna Bazile, a junior film and creative writing major, said she plays every day. If Bazile could, she would play more per day if the game offered more levels.
“The only strategy I try to use is to use as many vowels in the first and second guesses as possible,” Bazile said. “Vowels are the most useful so I think once you have a gist of the ones you can’t use, it makes you think even harder with what is leftover.”
Kaja Edwards, a senior English major, speaks on her thoughts about “Wordle.”
John LaRosa | The Montclarion
Kaja Edwards, a senior English major, is hesitant to play the game at all.
“I’m just not the type of person to play a game,” Edwards said. “I don’t have experience [with] playing games at all. ”
However, she notes that if her friends started playing she would probably want to join as well.
Jeffrey Yumbla, a freshman biology major, has been playing “Wordle” for two weeks.
John LaRosa | The Montclarion
Jeffrey Yumbla, a freshman biology major, is an avid user of “Wordle.” Yumbla is on a two-week winning streak in the game and shares his scores on Twitter.
“I think it’s formed a sort of little community amongst Twitter users,” Yumbla said. “I wasn’t a big user on Twitter before, but this found [me] new people to interact with.”
