Wordle
Ranked 4 of 17 word games by recommenders
Recommended for a simple once-a-day word puzzle with shareable emoji results that stays short and low-pressure. Critics mainly raise the word list and nudges toward a subscription.
Recommended for a simple once-a-day word puzzle with shareable emoji results that stays short and low-pressure. Critics mainly raise the word list and nudges toward a subscription.
49 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 28
- criticize it
- 21
- approval share
- 57%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 28 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Limited to one puzzle a day
“there's something nice about being only able to play it once a day”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Built a daily game where you sort historical events chronologically” “they forcibly prevented you from sinking too much time into them”
Comment from 6 Jan 2026 in “enclose.horse” “I really loved the fact you could only play Wordle once a day”
Comment from 24 May 2026 in “Show HN: Twixt – transform one word into another in four moves” - Comment from 14 Apr 2026 in “The Case Against Gameplay Loops”
Long-running daily habit for players
“I haven't failed to solve in months and I usually play every day.”
Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “Researchers used math to crack Wordle” “I've done Wordle daily since before NYT bought it”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “The desperation of NYTimes” “one of my daily fun routines”
Comment from 30 Oct 2026 in “elect.horse” Short, simple, accessible to anyone
“The result was a really accessible game - none of the words felt like ones you wouldn't know.”
Comment from 1 Feb 2026 in “A Crisis comes to Wordle: Reusing old words” “Wordle and Apple's mini crossword-minis are sufficiently stimulating and quick.”
Comment from 30 Dec 2025 in “GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder: What it means for you” “I love playing simple games like Wordle before sleep”
Comment from 10 Nov 2025 in “Show HN: Mxflo – Vibe code 2D games on your phone and play instantly” Shareable emoji results on social media
“One of the things that Wordle did that I thought was very clever was having a copy and paste social media preview of how you did.”
Comment from 10 Nov 2025 in “Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (Nov 2025)” “it just allows you to copy an emoji version of your game into any social media you like”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “Nobody clicks share buttons”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Word list and definition problems
“They never give a definition of the word after the game is finished!”
Comment from 12 Mar 2026 in “Don't post generated/AI-edited comments. HN is for conversation between humans.” “"COINS" is "not in word list." Wordle happily accepts it.”
Comment from 10 Dec 2025 in “Show HN: An unlimited Wordle practice site I built” “the current word list apparently doesn't include "Irish"”
Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “A Crisis comes to Wordle: Reusing old words” Pushes subscriptions and streak retention
“viewing all games is a way to "see what you could have" if you subscribed”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “The desperation of NYTimes” “the retention strategies, such as streaks, are just as manipulative.”
Comment from 29 May 2026 in “Why I collect DLES” Lost challenge and validation over time
“it didn't give me any validation when I solved it anymore”
Comment from 30 May 2026 in “Why I collect DLES” “The game quickly lost any challenge.”
Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “Researchers used math to crack Wordle”
Other word games people recommend
The four most recommended other word games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiled Words | 106 | 2 | 98% | 9 | — | Approved |
| 18 Words | 87 | 28 | 76% | 1 | — | — |
| Zanagrams | 51 | 5 | 91% | 2 | — | — |
| WordleThis page | 28 | 21 | 57% | 10 | — | — |
| One More Letter | 19 | 10 | 66% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 51 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“wordle is just a copy of mastermind”
“one of my daily fun routines”
“I never loved the luck element of Wordle”
“without a ‘reject all’ option - before I could even access the website”
“Right now game forces me to undo if I have reduced option space to fewer words than there are remaining guesses”
“I don't think they actually represent what they say they do.”
“Is Wordle not quality because it's not GTA 6?”
“it's a drag... i mean if you're 22 it's fun”
“I haven't failed to solve in months and I usually play every day.”
“The game quickly lost any challenge.”
“it just allows you to copy an emoji version of your game into any social media you like”
“I've done Wordle daily since before NYT bought it”
“viewing all games is a way to "see what you could have" if you subscribed”
“I often have this with the NYT Wordle game”
“The original Wordle had none of that and that's why it was so successful.”
“it didn't give me any validation when I solved it anymore”
“the retention strategies, such as streaks, are just as manipulative.”
“Wordle is a distant second.”
“I really loved the fact you could only play Wordle once a day”
“there's something nice about being only able to play it once a day”
“i was HEAVILY inspired by wordle, wanted to create a daily game with similar mechanics”
“I love games that are content to be played occasionally.”
“They never give a definition of the word after the game is finished!”
“NYT is doing well because of Wordle and all other games”
“Wordle did pretty well though!”
“the current word list apparently doesn't include "Irish"”
“The original list of words was an excellent list, and it's been over 4 years.”
“The result was a really accessible game - none of the words felt like ones you wouldn't know.”
“Wordle is fun but Pips is very satisfying.”
“the same quirk Wordle had that bugged me”
“you should easily be able to generate thousands of levels and have them all ready in the page like wordle”
“a lot of other well-loved "daily" puzzle games are more elegant in terms of game design”
“It’s just as fun as Wordle.”
“they forcibly prevented you from sinking too much time into them”
“Making it once per day doesn't make any sense whatsoever.”
“I love Wordle but I found it unplayable”
“Wordle and Apple's mini crossword-minis are sufficiently stimulating and quick.”
“"COINS" is "not in word list." Wordle happily accepts it.”
“One of the things that Wordle did that I thought was very clever was having a copy and paste social media preview of how you did.”
“I love playing simple games like Wordle before sleep”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.