Well, there are a few things that separate the game from the usual, run-of-the-mill word games. For starters, it is not an app, which may seem absurd in today’s app-centric climate but is played on a browser. Another very interesting thing about Wordle is that you only get one puzzle a day, which is again a little strange considering how all apps and games want users to spend as much time as possible on their platform. You can share your scores over different social media platforms and show off the number of tries it took for you to get the word of the day right. While the ‘one word a day’ situation might be keeping the interest high and running, if you are anything like us, a single word puzzle a day might just not be enough for you too. If that is the case, we have got you covered. Here are eight Wordle alternatives that can scratch your word puzzle itch till you are satisfied (and they cost nothing):
1. Hello Wordl: Wordle with more puzzles and longer words
If you love playing Wordle but just a single puzzle a day is not enough for you then Hello Wordl is the perfect alternative. Much like its name, there are many other similarities between the two word games. It also is played on a browser, and has almost the exact same interface where you have to guess the word by entering letters in the blank boxes. The correct letters placed in the right boxes turn green, the letters that exist in the word but are in the wrong place turn yellow and the ones that you have tried and are not in the word turn grey on the keyboard. You also get only six tries here but the good thing about Hello Wordl is that you can play as many times as you like, unlike Wordle where you only get a single puzzle per day.
With Hello Wordl, you can also decide the difficulty level as per your convenience. If you think guessing five letter words is a little difficult for you, you can switch to four letter puzzles. And in case you find the five letter puzzles too easy, you can increase the difficulty level and increase the length of your puzzle. The minimum word length is four while the maximum length goes up to eleven. There is a slider just above the puzzle which allows you to customise the length of the puzzle and you can also press the “give up” option right next to the slider and get the answer in case you cannot guess it correctly.
2. New York Times Spelling Bee: The game that inspired Wordle
It is the inspiration behind the game Wordle (the founder made Wordle because his partner liked Spelling Bee) and it’s a classic. The New York Times has a number of puzzles and games including Sudoku, Crossword, Tiles and amongst these games is a word puzzle called the New York Times Spelling Bee.
The game is simple: you get seven letters in a beehive hexagon with a letter in the centre that must be used in each word you create. You have to use the given letters and have to make as many words as possible. As you exhaust the possibilities, the bar on top of the word box gets filled and once you have figured out all the words possible with those seven letters you are done for the day. Just like Wordle, you only get one set of seven letters a day and the game is played on a browser!
3. Absurdle: Guess the word, which keeps changing
Like Wordle but need it to be more challenging? Well, this may be the game you are looking for. Absurdle is basically Wordle but with a twist. The game is somewhat like Wordle in that you play it on a browser and you have to guess a five-letter word by selecting letters on your screen. The game also highlights the letter present but placed in the wrong spot in yellow and the right letters in correct blanks in green.
But there is a twist – just when you think you have got the word right, the game changes the word. This means the word which is the answer will have the same letters that are highlighted but you have to defeat the game by guessing all the possible words with those letters. Basically you have to keep guessing the words until the game gives up. You get as many chances as you need to get there, not just six. Sounds twisted, right? Well you asked for a challenging alternative, this is exactly that.
4. Four Letters: Endless four-letter word making
As its name indicates, this is an app where you get four letters and you have to make a word using them. If you make a word within the time specified, you get another set of four letters.
Unlike Wordle, there is no right or wrong answer here, as long as you make a word that exists, you get points. When you get a set of four words on your screen, a timer goes off around the words and you have to make a word out of those four letters before the time ends. You get one point for each word made. The goal is to last as long as possible and make as high a score as possible. A fun, fast and easy game which can be very addictive and a great time killer. Download from: Apple App Store, Google Play
5. Alpha Omega: A spell cast by misspelled words
This one is not your usual ‘guess the word’ game. In this app-based game, you get all the words already but their letters are jumbled up. You have to place the letters in the correct order and guess the word. The interface is quite different as well. You get multiple words jumbled in a crossword format.
To make the process slightly easier, the words have the first and the last word placed correctly which means you would know which letter the word begins with and which letter the word ends with. For instance, if the word is “monkey”, it may be spelt “mekony.” The crosswords are divided into episodes and you also get clues to help you with difficult words. Download from: Apple App Store, Google Play
6. Word Search Pro: Spotting words in a grid
Word Search Pro is basically the digital version of grid based word puzzles that almost all of us have played in kids magazines and newspapers. This is an app based game where you get a screen full of letters and you have to spot words in this random letter pool. You can identify words by swiping up, down, right, left or diagonally. Once you identify a word, just run your finger over it and the word will get highlighted in the puzzle. The game comes with different difficulty levels that you choose from as per your liking. The game also offers categories and hints to help you get out of difficult spots and has a very colourful interface. Download from: Apple App Store, Google Play
7. SpellTower: Them Tetris-with-letters feels
Spell Tower takes two very classic game concepts and mixes them together, delivering a new take on a classic game. It is an app based word game where tiles of words start filling up your screen – remember Tetris?
In SpellTower you have to identify the words that these tiles make. Each word you spot will then disappear, making the remaining tiles drop and giving you more space (and time) for new tiles and words. The aim is simple– to last as long as possible and make the highest score. If any of the letter tiles touch the top of your screen, the game is over. The game also offers different modes to make it more interesting. Download from: Apple App Store, Google Play
8. Hangman: Guess words: When stickman will hang for your word sins
Guess the word like your life depends on it because in Hangman:Guess Words it truly does. It is an app based version of a classic game and has one the best interfaces amongst all the word puzzle games we have tried so far. We love the old school (quite literally) vibe that the game brings along. In the game you get blanks that have to be filled with letters to form a correct word. If you manage to get the word right before the stick figure is completed you move to the next level and in case you fail, a stick figure is hanged and you lose. Every time you guess a wrong letter, you get one step closer to a stick figure dying – first the gallows, then the head, then the body and finally arms and legs. You get hints and categories that the word belongs to is given just above the blanks. We love the animations of the game and it is pretty fun to play as well. Download from: Apple App Store, Google Play
