What is Wordle? Rules, strategy and everything you need to know

techradar.com:

It's now over a year since Wordle exploded onto our phones as the biggest puzzle phenomenon since, well, ever. In that time, it has garnered millions of daily players, inspired countless headlines, been bought by the New York Times, and endured multiple controversies.

So, what is Wordle as we enter 2023? Is it still a fun way to spend a few minutes, or something much bigger? 

We'll attempt to answer that below, as well as explaining what the Wordle rules are, what makes the best Wordle start words, what WordleBot is, and much more.

Wordle is a simple game in which you have to guess a new five-letter word each day. You get six guesses, learning a little more information with each guess, and eventually narrow your guesses down to find the answer. Or at least that's the theory – because while it is a simple game at heart, it's sometimes surprisingly tricky to find the solution. More on that below.

It's played online via the Wordle website(opens in new tab) or the New York Times' Crossword app (iOS(opens in new tab) / Android(opens in new tab)), and is entirely free – though you can pay to access the NYT's WordleBot helper tool. There's also been speculation that the game itself will eventually go behind a paywall, but so far the NYT has resisted the urge to scratch that potentially lucrative itch.

Crucially, the answer is the same for everyone each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world, rather than just against yourself or the game. The puzzle then resets each day at midnight in your local time, giving you a new challenge, and the chance to extend your streak.

Ah yes, streaks…

Wordle tracks your games via the browser or app, and gives you a running score of your wins and losses. Each time you win, you'll