The game was invented by Wardle during the COVID-19 lockdown, initially just "for me and my partner to enjoy." Despite these humble origins Wordle rapidly became popular across the English-speaking world and,

In January 2022, The New York Times acquired Wordle for an undisclosed seven-figure fee. The game challenges players to guess a five-letter word within six attempts, providing feedback after each guess through colored tiles that indicate correct letters and their positions.