The Most Popular Wordle Spinoffs to Date, According to Google
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Wordle-Inspired Games and Their Popularity
There are dozens, if not hundreds of Wordle-inspired games out there. And, that list keeps growing. But, as with any form of entertainment, a select few always rise to the top. The original Wordle game is obviously the most popular, but after it are a few quality games that have earned their own dedicated player bases.
To determine the most popular Wordle games, we turned to Google Trends. We looked specifically at data from the United States for the 30-day period between February 9 and March 9, 2022. According to Google Trends, the games below are the ones people search for the most.
For this article, we’ve ordered these Wordle-like games from most to least popular. Scores are all relative to the highest search volume for the most popular term over the defined time period. When you're done using our daily Wordle hints to solve today's Wordle answer, try playing one of these games like Wordle next.
Having Four Times the Fun With Quordle
Quordle stands as the most popular Wordle-like game by a rather sizable margin. Rather than trying to solve one puzzle, the player needs to complete four at once. This significantly increases the difficulty, making Quordle the perfect game for players who don’t consider regular Wordle to be much of a challenge.
The game’s word list also makes things more interesting. Rather than curating a specific 5 letter words list, the game’s developer programmed the game to use random words. The words that the game uses can also be somewhat obscure or unknown to many players. Remember our Quordle solver can help if the game gets too hard!
Google Trends average popularity score: 62/100
Nerdle Is the Game For Math Lovers
We can’t really call Nerdle a Wordle game, as it doesn’t use any words. Instead, Nerdle is a mathematics game. Each puzzle has a hidden equation that you must deduce. You can enter digits and a limited number of symbols (like plus, minus and divided by) to create equations. Once you enter an equation, the squares will change color, like in Wordle, to reveal if any parts of it were correct.
Nerdle also has a few different game modes. It has a normal mode, called Classic, but it also has Mini, Instant and Pro Nerdle modes.
Mini uses six-part equations rather than Classic mode’s eight.
Instant reveals all parts of an equation, but the parts are not in the correct order. You reorganize them to create the proper sequence.
Pro Nerdle is a puzzle-making tool so you can craft your own Nerdle puzzles. You can share any puzzles you create with other players.
Google Trends average popularity score: 44/100
Worldle Lets You Explore the World
Similar to Nerdle, Worldle isn’t a word game. Worldle is a geography trivia game. For each puzzle, the game shows the outline of a country. To win the Worldle puzzle, you need to enter the name of that country.
When you enter a country’s name, the game will give you clues for how close or far off your guess was. It shows how many kilometers away the country you entered is from the correct answer. The game also shows the general direction one would need to travel to reach the country when viewed on a map or globe.
Google Trends average popularity score: 38/100
People Play Dordle When One Isn’t Enough
The sweet spot between Wordle and Quordle is Dordle. This game, as the name implies, challenges you to solve two word puzzles at the same time. So, similar to how Quordle is basically four times as challenging as Wordle, Dordle offers twice the challenge of the original Wordle.
Since Dordle is part of the itch.io platform, a website with an open marketplace for indie game developers, the game has the added benefit of reaching a large community. Players can create discussion threads on the site to talk about the puzzles, which gives people another reason to return to the game each day.
Google Trends average popularity score: 14/100
Try Octordle If You’re a Wordle Pro
When you think you’ve mastered the difficulty of Wordle, and Quordle, it’s time to put your proficiency to the test and play Octordle. The potential terror of many newer Wordle fans, Octordle has you complete eight different puzzles simultaneously.
Octordle also has a tendency to use more obscure words than most other games. Luckily, the game is gracious enough to give you 13 attempts to solve the puzzle. So, if you can’t think of the right word, you have some extra chances to guess. Or, better yet, use our Wordle solver to find some potential answers.
Google Trends average popularity score: 9/100
Word Master: The True Wordle “Alternative”
For players looking for a Wordle clone that doesn’t deviate from the original’s game mechanic, Word Master is the most popular option. “Octo” Katherine Petrerson’s Word Master has the same settings options as Wordle. There are dark mode and hard mode options, for example. It also uses a very similar word list.
The best thing about Word Master is that you can play it more than once a day. It doesn’t have daily challenges. Instead, you can play as many puzzles as you want. And, with each puzzle you complete, you extend your win streak, which the game also tracks.
Being able to play multiple games each day and keep your streak going has made Word Master a useful Wordle training game. Play it to refine your skills, then use those skills to win in Wordle and other daily games.
Google Trends average popularity score: 5/100
Rack Your Brain With Absurdle
To experience the absolute hardest Wordle game, you need to turn to Absurdle. Absurdle gives you an endless number of chances to solve the puzzle, but there’s a major catch: The answers can change depending on the words you try.
Absurdle’s creator describes the game as the “adversarial version” of Wordle. If it registers that you found one of the answer’s letters but that it wasn’t in the right spot, the game might pick a new answer to assign that letter’s correct spot to a different square. Beating this game depends on your ability to avoid triggering a prompt to reassign a new answer.
Google Trends average popularity score: 4/100
Strategies For Winning Every Wordle Game
Though each game has its unique word lists and patterns, the vast majority of tactics and strategies people use for the original Wordle are equally effective in similar games, like Canuckle. Learning what the best starting Wordle words are will help narrow your searches. And implementing every other essential Wordle strategy will keep you from wasting your attempts. Keep learning and playing to ensure no Wordle game gets the better of you.
Zac Pricener has been a content creator for the past eight years. He’s a bit of an all-around nerd, and he has a bad habit of working movie and TV show references into conversations whenever possible.
