Josh Wardle has now invented a new word puzzle game, Parseword, after selling Wordle to The New York Times in 2022
The hugely popular Wordle game(Image: PA)
The Welsh creator of the hugely popular Wordle has developed another word puzzle despite finding it difficult following the success of his original creation. Josh Wardle, from Monmouthshire, came up with Wordle for his girlfriend to enjoy during the Covid-19 lockdowns.
The game was acquired by The New York Times in February, 2022, and Wardle told The Sunday Times: “I haven’t played since the day I sold it.”
Wardle, 43, created the puzzle game in 2020 to entertain himself and girlfriend Palak Shah during the pandemic. The title was later changed to Wordle, a play on his surname. Make sure you never miss Wales’ biggest updates by getting our daily newsletter
When previously asked whether he thought he’d develop another word puzzle game, he said: “Why would I do that to myself?”
Despite this, Wardle and a team of collaborators have recently launched Parseword, a wordplay game inspired by Wardle’s efforts to understand cryptic crossword puzzles, reports the BBC.
Similar to Wordle, a player hopes to solve one cryptic crossword clue a day, with the game becoming progressively more challenging as the week progresses.
Wardle said: “I remember looking at clues and feeling utterly flummoxed. Like it was completely impenetrable. They’ve become my favourite format, because hidden under all this complexity is this amazingly elegant puzzle.”
“I love language, this tool we all have access to, we use every day,” he said. “I think I’m just trying to make games that I would want to play.”
The original Wordle game involved guessing a five-letter word in six attempts. When the player enters their first word, the tiles turn green if the letter is in the correct position, yellow if the letter appears in the word but not in the right place, and grey if it’s not included at all.
Parseword and Wordle can only be played once daily and players have the option of sharing their results with friends, family or on social media.
“People would send me messages that Wordle had reinvigorated their family group chat. At the same time, that level of scrutiny and pressure was deeply stressful,” said Wardle.
The 43-year-old said he never came up with the game to make money, but he did end up earning a “low” seven-figure sum when he sold it four years ago.
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