Daily puzzle games have been there for decades satiating the appetite of puzzle lovers. Earlier newspapers featured Crosswords and Sudoku; readers eagerly used to wait for such daily puzzles and yesterday’s solutions. Newspapers still feature such puzzle games, not to mention, we are in the digital age, therefore, people tend to love online options more.
In the recent past, Wordle became people’s favorite and quite a hit in a short time due to the uniqueness and minimalism of the game. You must know that Josh Wardle, the creator of the Wordle game, had created it to play with one of his partner to kill time. Later on, they published it online without anticipating that people would go berserk over it.
The rise of Wordle created an impetus for the growth of other daily puzzle games; a path was created and ready to sail. Capitalising on this opportunity, many daily puzzles became famous and the Waffle daily puzzle one of the most successful.
There are many factors that may have contributed to the spike in puzzle lovers all over the world, particularly the people who love word puzzle games. Let’s find out the reason behind the rise of daily puzzle games in recent years.
The Dopamine Effect
Dopamine is a hormone that functions as a neurotransmitter and plays an important role in motivation, memory, and the brain’s reward system. When we do something that pleases and rewards us, we tend to do that thing more.Our body releases dopamine which sends signals to the brain that we are enjoying it.
The same effect applies to games as well. These days, people get their dopamine through online games, reels, social media, and other online rewarding stuff.
Daily puzzle games work the same way: you play the game, love it, and tend to come back the next day and more often thereafter. Your brain enjoys it when you solve puzzles, hear soothing sounds, and get rewarded.
Daily puzzles like Wordle and Waffle use a minimalistic user experience, soothing colors, and reward you based on your performance. It provides you with a sense of accomplishment and a reason to return.
The Zeigarnik Effect
Another reason for the rise of daily puzzle games is the Zeigarnik effect. It is a psychological phenomenon which compels you to remember unfinished tasks over completed ones. Incompleted tasks give rise to frequent cognitive tension at the forefront of your mind, whereas, the completed tasks fade away from memory.
When you play daily puzzles like Waffle2 or Wordle, either you solve the level or you can’t. If the level remains unsolved, you come back the next day to solve that day’s puzzle. Unless or until you solve the puzzle, you don’t get satisfaction.
Puzzle games give you a limited amount of time or moves to make the game challenging. When you fail, the Zeigarnik Effect comes into play. For instance, the Waffle daily puzzle gives you a limited number of moves, i.e. 15 moves to solve the puzzle. Such a limit in the moves makes the game challenging and players prone to fail. And when you fail, you tend to come back to accomplish what you couldn’t do the last day.
The Social Media Effect
Not to mention, social media played a crucial role in making online daily puzzle games famous in recent years. Social media has a reach all over the world. When a user posts something or shares something online, it has the potential to reach millions of people.
People tend to share and show off their achievements or something that is unique and they have tried for the first time. This effect played a significant role in making Wordle and Waffle2 one of the biggest hits among daily puzzles.
These games provide you with an option to share your progress, achievements, and other related information on social media. When people connected with you see and engage with such posts, they also wish to try them.
Nonetheless, if someone who is influential and has a good number of followers shares his progress or anything related to the game, the probability of the game becoming viral increases.
In an interview to a podcast show, James Robinson, the creator of the daily waffle game openly admitted that he didn’t spend too much on ads. He got traffic from shares on social media, especially from X (formerly Twitter).
The FOMO Effect
Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a psychological effect that creates anxiety and insecurity due to the belief that others are enjoying something that you are not. It has become more prominent in the last 5-7 years due to people becoming more active on social media and getting influenced.
As mentioned in the last point, games like Waffle2 became famous due to social media, it also gave rise to FOMO. After the New York Times acquired Wordle, the word spread like a wildfire. Everybody wanted to play the game to avoid FOMO. At one point, Wordle was getting more than 2 million daily players playing the game and showcasing their achievements with their peers on social media.
The Pandemic Effect
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2019, it caused devastation as thousands of people lost their jobs and became homeless. Moreover, they had limited options to kill time. Josh Wardle, an engineer by profession also felt this monotony and created a game in October 2021, to play with his dear partner.
When that game went online and word related to it spread on the web, people got something new to pass time with. With no work to do, and no other options to enjoy, they had Wordle to play.
The game was so addictive and pleasing that it continued entertaining loyal users. It was a watershed moment for the daily puzzle games and paved a new way to sail for other games. Following this path, many puzzle games originated, Daily Waffle Game and Waffle2 are the examples. Let’s explore the journey from Wordle to Waffle2 and cover some of the important puzzle games.
Suggested blog- Waffle or Wordle: Which Word Puzzle Is More Challenging?
Antiwordle
Launched in 2022, this game is quite contrary to the objective of the Wordle game where you have to guess the word of the day in 6 guesses. In Antowordle, you have to avoid guessing the secret word in as many tries as possible.
Well, it might sound like a piece of cake but, the game is harder than it sounds!
Daily Waffle Game
Who doesn’t know the Waffle game?! It is a daily word game which involves rearranging letters in a square grid to form six five-letter words in 15 tries. The puzzle can be solved in at least 10 moves and you get stars corresponding to the moves left.
The game became super popular and is still being played by millions of people worldwide.
Connections
After buying Wordle in 2022, NYT launched another daily puzzle game in 2023 called Connections. In a few months, the game became the second most popular online puzzle game.
The gameplay involves finding common connections between words. You must select four groups of four words and you mustn’t make more than 3 mistakes.
The game is too much fun and poses challenges to puzzle game lovers.
Strands
Launched in 2024, again by New York Times, this is one of the most engaging puzzle games that challenges you to uncover all the words on the grid related to the theme of the day. Each day you get a different theme and another level of difficulty.
Waffle2
Waffle2 is a new entrant among the famous daily puzzle games. Launched in 2025, this game is almost similar to the daily waffle game, but with a twist. It offers you 2 hints, undo and swap, that can be of use when you are stuck.
Moreover, the game has quite a unique UI and a lot of unique features.