I Have Become a Wordleholic

I have long been a fan of Jeopardy and look forward to watching the daily quiz game, even if most of the answers elude me. I enjoy the challenge of trying to beat any of the contestants, and laugh when they miss the easy ‘Canadian’ questions.

It is for the same reason I have recently become a wordleholic and faithfully attempt the game daily. I am proud to say, I have not yet missed a challenge, although a few have come close.

For those of you who have never heard of Wordle, it is a simple word game, which has half the planet mesmerized. To play, visit the nytimes.com website or simply Google ‘Wordle’. The game consists of five rows across and six rows down. You type in any five-letter word, and the correct letters will appear in green or yellow. Green means they are in the right spot, yellow means you have the right letter, but in the wrong location. You increase your letter count with each row until you have the entire word in your grasp.

Wordle was the brainchild of Englishman, Josh Wardle. Hence, the name Wordle, I guess. Originally, he created it for his partner, who loved word games, then sent it to his family’s group chat. Seeing the enthusiasm everyone close to him had for it, he eventually expanded it, and opened it to the public. It took off immediately, and was brought to the attention of the New York Times, who promptly purchased it for just over one million dollars. The Times stated it would remain free of charge, but there may be advertising on the page.

Being the competitive gang we are, Canadians did not want to be undone by the Brits, and therefore invented our own version of Wordle, called Canuckle. What else?. It is very similar to Wordle, except the correct letters are red and yellow, and the correct words have something to do with Canada. Words like SYRUP, CANOE, and MAPLE were tough to get, but I eventually mastered the challenge.

Give either of the two games a try, but hurry, as Canuckle is scheduled to stop on July 1st. I guess we will be out of Canadian words by then.

Jonathan van Bilsen is a television host, award-winning photographer, published author, columnist and keynote speaker. Watch his show, ‘Jonathan van Bilsen’s photosNtravel’, on RogersTV, the Standard Website or YouTube.

#column #JonathanvanBilsen