Wordle Inspired Games for the Classroom
The original Wordle is a free game you can play online at nytimes.com/games/wordle. Every day there is a new five letter word to guess, and you've got up to six guesses to figure out the word. After each guess, the game displays gray, yellow, and green boxes around the letters in your guess. Gray boxes indicate that the letter is not in the word. A yellow box indicates the letter is in the word, but in the wrong spot. Green indicates that the letter is in the right spot. A player uses these color clues to inform their next guess, similar to the game Mastermind.
Wordle explains its rules:
You play Wordle in your web browser. Although it's not in the App Store, you can add it to your device's Home screen so that it has an icon and be listed along with your other apps. To add to your Home screen on an iPhone, go the Wordle site in Safari and tap the Share button. Then choose Add to Home Screen.
Wordle has inspired the creation of many other grid-based word and number games. I'm listing some that teachers might like to offer students. If you have a suggestion, please leave it in a comment.
WordMaster from Flippity
WordMaster is like Wordle, except you enter your own list of items and get a shareable link so that others can try to guess the items. Each item you enter can be up to 10 characters long. You can enter any combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. When played, there is no dictionary, so players may type whatever they wish, including gibberish. The items are presented to players in the order in which they were entered.
Make a Custom Wordle
MyWordle.me is like Wordle, except you enter a 5 or 6 letter word and get a shareable link so others can try to guess your word. You can choose English, Spanish, or French as the language. Or, you can choose “No Dictionary,” which allows guesses to be any combination of letters. Use this for a lesson warmup or brain break, with the teacher choosing a word relevant to the lesson. It's also makes for a handy "lock" when creating digital breakout games. (P.S. You can learn to make digital breakouts in my upcoming online workshop, Classy Sites.)
Word Rodeo
Word.Rodeo is like Wordle, except you can create your own puzzles to share. Puzzles can be be as short as 3 letters and as long as 10 letters. Advanced options include adding a hint and allowing up to 12 guesses. Languages include English, German, French, and Polish.
Word Game from SlidesMania
Word Game is like Wordle, except you create your own puzzle in a copy of a Google Sheets document. After you make a copy of SlidesMania’s template, enter a five character answer in Row 1 and then hide the row. Get the shareable link to the document and send it to students, who make a copy before playing. When a letter or number is entered into a cell, the color instantly changes. If you want to make a game with multiple words, you can duplicate Sheet 1.
Word Master
Word Master is like Wordle, except you don't have to wait 24 hours to get a new word. You can play an unlimited number of games a day.
Hello Wordl
Hello Wordl is like Wordle, except you can choose to have up to 11 letters in the word you are trying to guess. You can play an unlimited number of games a day.
Ooodle
Ooodle is like Wordle, except you try to guess numbers in a number sentence. Be sure to follow the order of operations.
Times Table Sequences Game
Times Table Sequences Game is like Wordle, except you try to guess a sequence of five numbers from a times table.
Nerdle
Nerdle is like Wordle, except you try to guess a calculation. Each guess must be a valid number sentence containing an equal sign.
Primel
Primel is like Wordle, except you try to guess a 5-digit prime number. Knowing divisibility rules can help you determine if a number is prime.
Globle
Globle is like Wordle, except it’s a country guessing game. Instead of a grid, there’s a globe. Each day there is a mystery country and you try to guess it. Each incorrect guess appears on the globe with a color indicating how close is it the mystery country. Yellow is far away, orange is somewhat near, and red is very close. Think of it like a game of hot and cold.
Spello
Spello is like Wordle, except it’s designed for teachers to create spelling lists. Words in the list can be any length. Students follow the shareable link provided by the teacher and press “Play Word” to hear the word read by a computer voice. They try to spell the word, and after each try the tiles change to show how close the guess is to the actual spelling.
Wordle in Spanish
Wordle (ES) is like Wordle, except you guess in Spanish rather than in English. You can also find games in other languages, like this one in French.
Wordle Together
Wordle Together is like Wordle, except you play against an opponent. Both of you try to be the first to guess the mystery word. You can be matched with a random player online or you can copy the link and invite a friend to play.
Thanks to Kelly Duncan for telling me about a few of these games.
