Wordle praise


After an initial curmudgeon reaction, I gave in and played Wordle...

What made me change my mind? It was the fact that it was the same word for everyone once a day. That's what sold me, it was a challenge that was the same for everyone. Everyone got the same word and there would be no obsessive types saying they play it 200 times a day and can now guess it every time in two turns.

It also reminded me of doing the crossword with my in-laws when we visit them. I don't get to do it often enough, but it's enjoyable to be all beavering away on the same puzzle and then come together at the end to share tips.

I wanted to write about this game because I think it's a breath of fresh air in so many ways. Recently launching my Spare Parts Press venture, I have been faced with the ickiness of the sale. I've talked about how maybe this is a weird hangup of mine. But I'm doing this venture to share comics that I think deserve a wider audience. I would/could do it for free, but I also think artists deserve compensation for their work. It's an odd conflict, and I'm not sure if I've entirely solved it yet. Whereas with Worlde its approach is so different from the usual. For one, it is a website and not an app (initially I downloaded a 'Wordle' app and was so confused...) it gives you the opportunity to share your results but doesn't link back to the site. It just feels fun and not the usual bait and switch fun of "Hey you like this? Sign up for a premium...subscribe for more..."

I'll have to keep thinking on this and see how I might be able to have Wordle inspire a better approach to the comics I'd like to share and how I promote them. I think there's something to be said for just making good work for the right audience and trusting the process.

If you haven't played it yet, you can check it out here, https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/

Herre's a recent interview with the creator Josh Wardel, https://slate.com/culture/2022/01/wordle-game-creator-wardle-twitter-scores-strategy-stats.html 


 

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