The 10 Best Wordle Spin-Offs, Ranked
Since the immense popularity of Wordle, various spin-offs have been developed. These spin-offs take the aesthetic of Wordle and transform it in creative ways.
March 11, 2022
Which Wordle spin-off should you play next?
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Coined the “sourdough starter of Omicron,” Wordle has rapidly taken the internet by storm, bringing in over millions of players every day and becoming a staple routine in many peoples’ lives. Inspired by the immense popularity of Wordle, various developers have created their own, unique Wordle spin-off, imitating aspects of the Wordle aesthetic while adding a challenging, creative, or even comical aspect.
After trying over 50 different Wordle spin-offs, here are my top 10 favorite ones.
10. Worldle
Wordle but with geography. Try to guess the country given its silhouette. Instead of giving away spelling hints, Worldle gives hints regarding the guess’s relative location to the answer.
Though I’m not a geography person myself, the Worldle has been extremely fun for me. Thinking about the shape and location of various countries in the world as opposed to thinking about word structure was new and refreshing for me. However, the Worldle only barely makes the list because of some inconsistencies. Some days, I can get the answer immediately right after seeing the silhouette. Other days, the answer is a country that I didn’t even know existed.
9. Taylordle
Love Taylor Swift? The Taylordle is a themed Wordle that features a Taylor Swift-related word every day.
I had to put Taylordle on this list because of how simplistic, genius, and quirky the idea is. The only reason that the Taylordle isn’t higher on the list is because of some clarity issues with the game. Because it isn’t that clear what exactly could qualify as a “Taylor Swift related word,” the Taylordle could be confusing sometimes.
8. Wordle in Foreign Languages
Do you speak a foreign language? Test out your knowledge by playing Wordle in foreign languages. The same rules to Wordle apply, except words must be in another language.
As a student learning a foreign language, these Wordle spin-offs have helped me academically. Playing the Spanish Wordle every day has both helped me learn new words, as well as exercise my vocabulary. However, someday it gets pretty frustrating when I realize that the answer was a word I didn’t even know existed. Though these spin-offs aren’t as creative, they get eighth place because of the potential they have to help students who are learning foreign languages.
7. Absurdle
Absurdle is well… absurd. Every guess you make, the solution changes in a calculated way that reveals as little information as possible. Your first few guesses will undoubtedly be barren of any yellow or green squares.
Absurdle has to be one of the most creative and innovative spin-offs that I found. When I first tried this game, I was left completely confused and frustrated, which was what the developer of Absurdle was going for. This game gets seventh place because of the sheer creativity of the concept. However, the only thing Absurdle lacks is variety. Having a changing word that follows a computer algorithm removes one of my favorite things about Wordle, the fact that each day had a different solution. Without that aspect, nothing was dragging me to come back to Absurdle every day.
6. Squirdle
Squirdle, named after the Pokemon Squirtle, is Wordle-themed around the video game series and anime Pokemon. Unlike Wordle, however, Squirdle does not reveal information about the spelling of the secret Pokemon, but instead information about its generation, type, and size.
Squirdle was certainly one of the more difficult spin-offs that I encountered. Even for me, someone who was obsessively into Pokemon during elementary school, Squirdle left me stumped. With almost 900 different Pokemon to guess from, this game was designed for extreme Pokemon fanatics. However, this spin-off makes it to my sixth place spot because of how unique the concept is. The name “Squirdle” is also pretty hilarious.
5. Dordle
Dordle ups the difficulty of Wordle by making players guess two words simultaneously. Instead of having six guesses to guess a word, you get seven guesses to guess two different words. Dordle also offers both a daily puzzle, as well as an unlimited version that can keep you playing all day long. Additionally, extra difficult variants, such as Quordle and Octordle, challenge players to guess even more words at the same time.
Though not a super creative spin-off, Dordle felt new and refreshing. My favorite thing about Dordle is that it requires a different approach to guessing than Wordle does. Because there are multiple words to be guessed at the same time, you have to balance the information that you have about each word and try to deliberately come up with your next guess. Dordle gets my fifth-place spot because of the simplistic style, yet nuanced strategy, that it offers.
4. Semantle
Test your vocabulary in Semantle, a Wordle spin-off that gives you information about your guess’s “similarity” in meaning to the answer as opposed to the spelling.
For me, Semantle was the most challenging and frustrating spin-off that I found. Since every single word, not just five lettered ones, could be an answer, Semantle left me completely stumped. Even after using a thesaurus to look up words similar in meaning to each other, the Semantle still sometimes took me over 50 guesses. However, finally getting the right answer makes me feel extremely accomplished. Semantle gets fourth on my list because of how challenging, yet rewarding, it is.
3. Cross Wordle
Cross Wordle plays like a smaller, single-player version of scrabble. Try to string up all your letter pieces in a crossword-style to solve the puzzle.
Playing Cross Wordle brings back good memories of playing Scrabble with my family. My favorite part of Cross Wordle is how it plays similarly to Wordle through the analysis of spelling patterns while not giving away any hints, as players only start with an open grid and a bank of letters. Cross Wordle gets my third place spot because of the nuanced strategy and difficulty that it offers. Though simplistic, the incorporation of the crossword-style forces players to think about how letters could fit in multiple words at the same time. Cross Wordle is one of the more difficult spin-offs that I found.
2. Nerdle
Nerdle is Wordle but with math equations. Using the digits 0-9 and the basic four math functions, try to figure out the secret math equation. All guesses must be mathematically correct.
Nerdle was the first Wordle spin-off that I encountered. Though Nerdle didn’t deviate away from the concept of Wordle that much, I immediately fell in love with it. The main challenge and the main appeal in my opinion, of Nerdle was the fact that changing a number or sign would force players to change the number on the other side of the equation. This aspect caused me to think in an “if I change this… then I would also have to change that” mindset which activated my logical and computing skills. The fact that Nerdle can change Wordle just a bit and create an entirely new and unique game that requires a deep level of understanding and strategy earns it the second-place spot on my list.
1. Waffle
In Waffle, move letters around in a waffle-shaped grid to make words. The same yellow and green color-coded hints of Wordle apply in Waffle as well.
Waffle takes the spot as my favorite Wordle spin-off for a multitude of reasons. First, the name “Waffle” and the concept overall is just so creative and hilarious. Secondly, the puzzle itself is one of the most fun and satisfying ones to solve. Thinking thoroughly about where each letter could go and trying to predict consonant and vowel patterns in a similar style to Wordle created a challenging environment that was not too foreign. In my experience, it was not too difficult to solve the Waffle in under 15 swaps, but trying to minimize the swaps used was a much more difficult and nuanced process. Lastly, with the use of the classic yellow and green squares, Waffle has that iconic Wordle vibe that makes it feel simplistic. I love how Waffle sticks to the roots of Wordle but spins it into a more complex and intriguing way that allows for both casual and competitive players to enjoy.
Taylor B | May 11, 2023 at 12:25 PM
Check out Sixordle, where you play four 6-letter Wordles at the same time. Segmentle, is a numbers game invented by AI where you move numbers around until each column sums up to the same number.