Wordle was an overnight sensation. Now its creator is back with a new game

After the monumental success of Wordle, Josh Wardle thought he’d ne'er do another word biz.

“The go through of going viral and its success obviously was great for me in some ways, but I found it deeply unpleasant,” the New York-based software engineer told The Current.

But after nearly five years away, he finally felt good enough to step back into the ring with a new game, Parseword, a digital take on the cryptic crossword.

In Parseword, players solve a single cryptic clue each day by uncovering a hidden phrase through deduction. Each clue is the puzzle itself. The game involves literary devices like synonyms, homophones and hidden fragments.

Wardle admits that cryptic puzzles are notoriously difficult to solve, but he says beneath the impenetrable layer is a delightful format. 

“Once you get over the hump of it all being confusing, it’s really beautiful and elegant,” Wardle said. “It's an exciting way to think about language.”

In October 2021, Wardle created and released the web-based game Wordle, in which players  have six attempts to guess a five-letter word, using feedback from coloured tiles.

But what started as a game to entertain his puzzle-loving wife blew up into a viral sensation, eventually purchased by The New York Times Company, which owns the New York Times, for an undisclosed seven-figure fee.

“When the stakes were making something for my partner — that she and I played on the couch in the morning as we drank our tea — that is very different from millions of people playing,” Wardle said. 

After the sale, Wardle worked as a consultant for other game developers, helping by building prototypes and giving feedback. 

He says the experience made him feel more grounded as a game developer.

“Working as a consultant for a little while really helped me do the reps and practise and feel much more confident."

Still, Wardle says he worried about experiencing the “sophomore slump,” comparing his struggle to come up with a new game in the shadow of Wordle to a musician making their second album. 

The sophomore slump describes a decline in performance, motivation, or enthusiasm during a second endeavour following a massively successful debut.

Stacy Costa, a Toronto-based enigmatologist who studies puzzles and the people who use them, agrees Wardle set a high bar for himself.

“Wordle is like a number one, platinum album. I don't think that's gonna go anywhere,” said Costa, who is also a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education focusing on problem-solving and argumentative discourse.

She says there were three factors that helped Wordle reach the heights it did. 

For one, five-letter words are easy to learn, and English is widely spoken worldwide, she says. Plus, she adds, the game is short, simple and available on people’s phones, so it was easy for people to make it part of their daily routines.

The third factor, Costa says, were the bragging rights. 

“People love to brag of their accomplishments and that's no different for puzzles. People could easily share with family and friends through text and start to engage in fun rivalries,” she said.

Costa says the game also landed during the COVID-19 pandemic when many people were craving human connection.

While she's played Parseword and enjoys it, she says it may not reach the same level of success as Wordle. She says Parseword is intended to appeal to a niche audience.

“You have to have a love for the English language, for words and linguistics. You have to understand things like similes. You have to have some critical and lateral thinking,” Costa said. "If you don't have that, it's going to be harder to solve."

Wardle says Parseword requires more focus than Wordle, but perhaps that’s not a bad thing.

“You have to sit and really think about what all the words could mean in the clue. I think encouraging people to take that time, slow down, is something that we all need.”

Josh Wardle interview produced by Kate Swoger.

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