Games like Wordle – the best spinoffs and alternatives
Bored of Wordle? Here are some alternatives you can try out
If you’re looking for the best games that are like Wordle but offer something a bit different, you’ve come to the right place.
Wordle has steadily taken over the internet thanks to its simple yet challenging gameplay, but that’s not to say the game is faultless.
Among its main issues is that you can only tackle one puzzle a day - and we're here to help if you want today's Wordle answer, by the way – if you’re looking to try another puzzle you’ll have to wait for the clock to tick over to tomorrow. Additionally, the game can get a bit repetitive; if you’ve worked out the best starting words then you can pretty much guarantee a win within four tries.
However, Wordle’s popularity spawned several clones that offer a similar style of gameplay with unique twists to keep you entertained. To save you the time of sifting through the trash, we’ve gathered the best Wordle-like games so you can give them a go.
- Want to get better at the real deal? Here are our tips to win Wordle everyday
Dordle
If you’re after a more challenging version of Wordle, Dordle is going to be the game for you.
It’s exactly the same as Wordle – using the same hint system and offering a new puzzle for you to attempt each day - except you are guessing two five-letter words at once.
Every time you make a guess it's simultaneously entered into two boards, and each will return clues that link your word to their respective hidden solution. You'll have to carefully consider your words to maximize the hints you get across two Wordles at once.
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To help you out just a little bit, Dordle gives you an extra attempt, increasing your total guess to seven rather than six.
Plus, if you want to play more after attempting the daily puzzle, there is the option to keep going with the 'free Dordle' mode.
Primel
It’s time to leave the letters behind and try out this all-numbers version of Wordle, Primel.
Rather than trying to guess a five-letter word, you have to six attempts to work out a secret five-digit prime number. In case you've forgotten a prime number is one that can only be divided by one and itself, i.e. 11, 13, and 2,351.
Much like Wordle, you're given the same hint system – a grey box means that digit isn't in the number at all, yellow means you have the right digit in the wrong position, and green means you got the right digit in the right place.
On top of that, just like Wordle again you can attempt a new Primel puzzle every day.
If you want to give it a try but are struggling to find a five-digit prime number, remember that they’ll only ever end in either one, three, seven, or nine.
Worldle
Worldle puts your geography skills to the test by showing you the outline of a country and asking you to guess which one it is.
If you guess incorrectly you’re told how far away the answer is from the country you just typed, and which direction you’ll have to travel from your location in order to get to your destination.
Take note, however, as the distance you are shown is based on the distance between the country’s centers, not between their borders. For example, the distance between the United States and Canada (which share a border) is given as 2,260km.
Like Wordle, you only have six guesses and a new puzzle is available for you to play each day.
Squabble
The battle royale trend may have lost some steam, but it has managed to claim Wordle with this competitive twist on the puzzle game.
In Squabble, players are competing against each other to be the last person standing as they work to solve Wordle-style puzzles – with the same hint structure and ability to only attempt each word six times before being given a new one.
You start off with 100 hit points and steadily lose it by guessing incorrectly or when other players get the correct answer. You also lose a hit point every second, so you can’t dawdle. Thankfully, life can be regained by finding the right word.
It’s the perfect option for those looking to flex their Wordle skills in matches of up to 99 players; you can even set up a room to play against your friends to find out who really is the best at Wordle.
Lewdle
If your first guess in Wordle is always something rude then this version of the game is perfect for you.
Much like traditional Wordle, Lewdle asks you to guess a different five-letter word in just six attempts each day, but you can only input words that are in some way vulgar, profane, or obscene.
If you manage to stumble onto the answer but don't know what it means, the game will helpfully link you to the relevant Urban Dictionary entry so that you can learn more about this new term that’s been added to your vocabulary.
Plus, if your catalog of lewd words is fairly short you can optionally play on Sheltered Mode. This will let you guess any word whether it's rude or not so that you can narrow down the letters, but the answer will still be something dirty.
Squirdle
Let's flex those 'who’s that Pokémon?' skills you spent your childhood developing with Squirdle.
Each day you have eight guesses to work out who the secret Pokémon is. When you make a guess you’re told how close you are not based on the spelling of the critter’s name, but on how your guess compares to the answer’s type, weight, height, and the generation it was introduced.
Type clues are presented using the traditional Wordle method; red is wrong, green is completely correct, and yellow means you have the correct type in the wrong place. Each Pokémon has two types, though monotype creatures have their second type listed as ‘none.’
Generation, height, and weight are given as either a green box if your guess is the same as the answer in this category, or as up/down arrows to tell you if you need to think of larger Pokémon in later games, or smaller and from earlier on in the franchise.
You can also play a non-daily version of the game if you want to play a few more rounds, plus you can optionally set this version to only include the original 151 if you're an old-school fan.
Letterle
Do you hate having to spend time thinking of and typing out five-letter guesses?
Letterle will save you time, and brainpower, by asking you to correctly guess just one letter. There aren’t any clues, just random typing of your keyboard until you happen to stumble onto the right answer.
You can play Letterle as many times as you like in one day, with each attempt having a new randomly selected letter for you to try and guess.
Absurdle
Have you ever felt like Wordle was playing against you, changing the answer as you guess to keep you from finding it? Well, if you’re playing Absurdle you know the game is doing just that.
When you start playing Absurdle there is no answer. As you make guesses, Absurdle provides you with clues such that the pool of possible answers is kept as large as it can be.
As you continue to make guesses, you’ll eventually narrow down this list until you finally exhaust all remaining options and stumble into the ‘answer.’
If you’re unsure how to kick things off, you can hit the 'Random Guess' button to input a random clue to start with.
Plus, you can play Absurdle as many times as you want in a single day.
- Want to play something else? Check out the best PC games in 2022
Hamish is a Senior Staff Writer for TechRadar and you’ll see his name appearing on articles across nearly every topic on the site from smart home deals to speaker reviews to graphics card news and everything in between. He uses his broad range of knowledge to help explain the latest gadgets and if they’re a must-buy or a fad fueled by hype. Though his specialty is writing about everything going on in the world of virtual reality and augmented reality.