Worldle, the new Wordle spin-off game, is for geography whizzes. Photo: Worldle
Worldle, the new Wordle spin-off game, is for geography whizzes. Photo: Worldle
Worldle, the new Wordle spin-off game, is for geography whizzes. Photo: Worldle
Worldle, the new Wordle spin-off game, is for geography whizzes. Photo: Worldle

Arts & Culture

'Wordle' spin-off games: from 'Worldle' for countries to 'Nerdle' with numbers

The viral word game has inspired a whole bunch of other new, unofficial puzzles

Katy Gillett
Katy Gillett

February 09, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

At this point, Wordle hardly needs an introduction. Josh Wardle's viral word game, which has amassed millions of players within only a few months and has been bought by The New York Times, has inspired several other game makers, who have followed in its creator's footsteps.

It's beloved so much across the world that it's even been translated into several languages, including Arabic.

The simple premise – whereby players have six attempts to guess a five-letter word – has been adopted and used in a whole range of spin-off games.

Here are some of the best:

Worldle

It's Wordle, except for countries and not words. The general idea is the same: there's a daily puzzle and you have six guesses to figure out what country it is. An illustration of the shape of the country is given to you, and after each guess, you get a percentage of how close you are to the answer and an arrow pointing you in the direction of the correct destination.

Unless you're a geography whizz, this one's tough, but you'll learn a lot along the way, too.

Play it here: www.worldle.teuteuf.fr

Nerdle

Not everyone is a words person – some people are numbers people. That's where Nerdle comes in: it's Wordle for maths whizzes. Instead of five-letter words, you need to come up with the day's equation. There are eight "letters" – numbers from zero to nine and then +-*/= – and you'll always need one equals sign.

The order matters, according to the rules. "If the answer we’re looking for is 10+20=30, then 20+10=30 isn’t close enough."

If you're not a numbers fan, this isn't for you.

Play it here: www.nerdlegame.com

Primel

Primel is another numbers game but arguably not quite as hard as Nerdle. Then again, it's not easy either, as you're meant to come up with a five-digit prime number in six tries. It'll only accept prime numbers as guesses, too, so it can become a real head-scratcher.

Play it here: www.converged.yt/primel

Wordle Unlimited

This is fairly self-explanatory: it's Wordle, but you can play it over and over again.

Only diehard Wordle fans need apply.

Play it here: www.wordleunlimited.com

Squirdle

Are you into Pokemon? If you answered yes, this is the game for you. You have eight guesses to come up with the right character. After each one, you're given tips on whether it's the right generation, type, height and weight, so you can whittle it down to the correct answer.

Play it here: www.squirdle.fireblend.com

Bikle

Know your crank from your cadence? Your bonks from your biffs? Tour de France a staple on your TV screen? Then Bikle is your game. You've got six tries to find a male or female cyclist's five-letter surname. It could be a legend from the past or someone in the present. Tiles go green when they're right and in the correct place, grey if they're wrong. You know the rules by now.

Play it here: www.giop98.github.io/bikle

Lordle of the Rings

JRR Tolkien would have loved this one. It's exactly like Wordle in almost every way, except you're guessing words that relate to the Lord of the Rings books.

Play it here: www.digitaltolkien.github.io/vue-wordle

Lewdle

Wordle, but for rude words. Enough said.

Play it here: www.lewdlegame.com

Here are nine other word games similar to Wordle you might love – in pictures:

'Hello Wordl' is a remake of 'Wordle' and is played in the same way, except you can do it more than once and change the length of the words.
'Hello Wordl' is a remake of 'Wordle' and is played in the same way, except you can do it more than once and change the length of the words.
'Absurdle' is the 'adversarial variant' of 'Wordle'.
'Absurdle' is the 'adversarial variant' of 'Wordle'.
'Letterle' is a mischievous spoof game that makes players guess a single letter each day.
'Letterle' is a mischievous spoof game that makes players guess a single letter each day.
'Letterpress' is an unlimited, free game where you unscramble tiles to spell words against friends and random opponents.
'Letterpress' is an unlimited, free game where you unscramble tiles to spell words against friends and random opponents.
'Word Forward' features a 5x5 grid of letter combinations that you can use to make words.
'Word Forward' features a 5x5 grid of letter combinations that you can use to make words.
'Kitty Letter' is from the makers of 'Exploding Kittens'.
'Kitty Letter' is from the makers of 'Exploding Kittens'.
'SpellTower' is like 'Tetris' meets 'Boggle'.
'SpellTower' is like 'Tetris' meets 'Boggle'.
'TypeShift' allows players to spell words using sliding letters in columns.
'TypeShift' allows players to spell words using sliding letters in columns.
'Word Master' is strikingly similar to 'Wordle' except you can play more than one a day.
'Word Master' is strikingly similar to 'Wordle' except you can play more than one a day.
'Wordle' has gone viral and amassed hundreds of thousands of players in a few months. AFP
'Wordle' has gone viral and amassed hundreds of thousands of players in a few months. AFP
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Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

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Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)

Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski

Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)

Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea

Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona

Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)

Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)

Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)

Best National Team of the Year: Italy 

Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello

Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)

Player Career Award: Ronaldinho

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Medicus AI

Started: 2016

Founder(s): Dr Baher Al Hakim, Dr Nadine Nehme and Makram Saleh

Based: Vienna, Austria; started in Dubai

Sector: Health Tech

Staff: 119

Funding: €7.7 million (Dh31m)

 

Red flags
  • Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
  • Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
  • Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
  • Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
  • Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.

Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

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Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6

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Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm

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Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
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Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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Price: From Dh801,800

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Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.

They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.

“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.

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