Among the word puzzle lovers, Wordle became quite popular in a short period. Due to its uniqueness and addictive nature, the game garnered millions of followers all over the world. However, it is a human tendency to get bored after some time. Likewise, word game lovers may want games like Wordle that are similar yet unique.
With an increasing demand for such word puzzles, many game developers have published new word puzzle games, taking inspiration from Wordle. With a boom in the word puzzle genre, we saw a surge in new and captivating Wordle-type games.
In this blog, we brought a list of 5 Wordle like games that leveraged the opportunity to become as popular as Wordle. These games are unique, easy to play, and engaging. Let’s begin exploring them:
Waffle Word Game
Our list begins with the Word Waffle, a game that continued the legacy of Wordle. Published in February 2022 as the daily word game Waffle, it became one of the most played Wordle-type games.
The Waffle Word Game uses the same color feedback as the Wordle game, but is more complex and challenging to play.
The gameplay involves swapping letters in a waffle-shaped grid to solve the puzzle in a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 15 moves. Players can earn one star per unused swap, e.g., if a player solves the puzzle in 11 moves, he is rewarded with 4 stars, as there are 4 swaps left.
As this game became one of the well-known word puzzle games, it introduced many new features, some of which are the Unlimited mode, in which players get unlimited moves to solve the puzzle. And there is Deluxe mode, in which you get to play larger grids. Moreover, you can visit the archive page to play old Waffle daily.
These are some of the reasons that make Waffle top the list of 5 games like Wordle.
Squabble
Squabble is also quite popular among players who love games like Wordle. It was published in Feb 2022 by the developer, Ottomated.
The Squabble game blends the mechanics of battle-royal gameplay with Wordle and supports a multiplayer format. You can play small matches (Blitz mode) with 2 to 5 players or large matches (Squabble Royale) with 6 to 99 players.
In the Squabble gameplay, time matters a lot as your health drains, usually around 1 HP per second. The correct guesses help you heal and inflict damage on your opponents. However, any wrong guesses can harm your health. The last player standing wins the game.
Squabble has a replay mode that lets you review how winning players guessed their words.
Just like Wordle, you get color-coded feedback; moreover, you have a maximum of 6 tries per word to find the word. But, unlike Wordle, you don’t have any limit on playing Squabble.
Knotwords
If we are talking about games like Wordle, how can we forget to mention Knotwords! Published in April 2022, the game became famous swiftly due to its uniqueness and crossword-like features.
The gameplay involves forming possible words in a cage-shaped grid pre-filled with letters. It is a crossword-style game in which each across and down entry must create a meaningful word.
There are letter zones within the grid, and these zones display the letters that you must use, but their order is not defined.
As a player, you have to select a zone and type letters using an in-game keyboard. The game verifies the entered letters both horizontally and vertically. In addition, the game crosses out mismatches once a row or column is complete.
The UI highlights invalid words or reused letters, helping you through the game. If you are stuck, a rabbit mascot is there to offer you dictionary-style hints. However, if you use hints, time penalties apply, and you get a limited number of hints.
The best thing about this game is its daily mini puzzle, classic puzzle, and daily twist puzzles that rotate weekly. Additionally, monthly puzzle books offer 30 additional puzzles varying in difficulty.
Absurdle
Absurdle is another famous web-based Wordle like game, published in 2022 by Sam Hughes. The game became popular as the ‘evil twin of Wordle.’ It is a single-player game that is developed to test your guesses.
Like Wordle, you have to guess 5-letter words, and during gameplay, you receive colour-based feedback. However, there is a twist! Unlike Wordle, there is no fixed answer at the beginning. But after each guess, Absurdle picks a secret word from the largest remaining pool, thus causing extended gameplay.
Unlike Wordle, Absurdle offers unlimited attempts. Nonetheless, it takes 4-6 guesses on average to find the word.
Contexto
Talking about word puzzle games like Wordle, we can’t forget to mention Contexto on this list. Launched in 2022, the game involves deducing a five-letter secret word.
It is a Wordle like game but with some twists; unlike Wordle, in which focus is on letters and their positions, Contexto involves finding the word through close guesses.
You enter any random word, and the game tells you how close it is to the secret word by assigning a rank to your guess. Moreover, you get colour-coded hints:
- Green: Very close (positions 1–300)
- Yellow/Orange: moderate similarity (301–1500)
- Red: Far from the correct word
There is no limitation on guesses; you can keep trying until you find the correct answer. Additionally, you can replay any previous puzzles from the archive.
Read more: Why Solving a Waffle2 Puzzle Feels So Satisfying
After witnessing the rising popularity of Wordle and other similar games, the market saw a surge in the launch of many new word puzzle games.
However, there were some that chose to get inspiration from Wordle and amalgamate its colours, ideas, UI, and other things into their ideas to create some unique games. Waffle, Squabble, Knotwords, Absurdle, and Contexto are some examples of games like Wordle that became popular. These brain trainer puzzle games are unique, addictive, and best for puzzle lovers.