Stop in for 5 great alternatives to Wordle that’ll be just as fun, if not more so.

It was around about this time last year that the world went Wordle crazy. Who could’ve predicted that a game someone designed for their girlfriend would become such a huge hit? Funnily enough, the Wordle creator cashed in on his idea and sold it to the New York Times at the perfect moment. A few months later, the Wordle player base decreased dramatically. Like many other online games, this one seemed like a flash in the pan. 

The problem with Wordle wasn’t that it wasn’t great. The problem was that it became repetitive, and you could figure out a system where placing a specific word first every time would almost guarantee a two or three-word success rate. For some, it got boring and unfulfilling too quickly. 

Instead, why don’t you check out some other free online word games that are way better than this one? Here are a few that should appeal to everyone: 

Scrabble

Yep, you can play the classic family board game online for free. There’s an officially-licensed website that lets you play against random people, a friend or the computer. You can have all the fun of the original game, but it plays a lot faster. Plus, you can technically be a bit cheeky and cheat a little bit by using apps to unscramble words. It’s pretty fun doing this against random people online, but it also helps you learn the game more and figure out how to unscramble things yourself in the future. 

Spelling Bee

Funnily enough, this is another of the New York Times games, but it never got the same recognition as Wordle. Personally, I find it way more entertaining. You get seven letters and the aim is to make as many words as possible using these letters. But, they all have to include the letter in the middle. It’s a bit hard to explain by typing, but if you go on the Spelling Bee page you’ll see what I mean as the letters are arranged around one central letter. It’s really fun, and it’s very time-consuming, making it perfect for long commutes to/from work. 

Quordle

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what inspired this game! After seeing the success of Wordle, someone decided to create a rival game that took things one (or maybe three) steps further. Here, instead of solving a one-word puzzle, you must solve four at once. Immediately, this makes the game far more challenging and removes any first-word hacks you may have used in Wordle. It’s a great game for people that find Wordle too easy or boring. There’s no doubt that it’s popular as Quordle was bought by Merriam-Webster at the start of 2023. 

Daily Quick Crossword

Crosswords are always really fun and exciting to do. Again, New York Times has its own Mini Crossword you can do each day, but it’s a bit rubbish. Instead, you can find a website that lets you do a Daily Quick Crossword for free. It changes every day, and you get to set a timer to see how quickly you manage it. The introduction of a timer is a huge hit for me as you start competing with yourself and friends. Get some friends to all do the crossword every day and see who’s the fastest. Sure, some people might cheat, but it’s still fun. Plus, you always strive to beat your personal best every day, adding a new element of fun. 

Codenames

Is Codenames technically a word game? It involves words and trying to guess them, so it pretty much deserves to be in this category. If you’re an avid watcher of Twitch and other streaming platforms, you’ll know that Codenames was super popular during the lockdowns. It’s a free-to-play game in which two teams battle against one another. There’s a board with multiple squares on it, and each square contains a word. Some of them are red, others are blue, and a few are neutral. There’s one word square that’s black, which is the bomb. The idea is that both teams have a Spymaster who can see the entire board and all of the words. Then, they have to try and get their teammates to guess the words that correspond with their team colors. Teams take it in turns until all of the red words are uncovered, all the blue words are uncovered, or someone hits the bomb which ends the game and means their team loses. It’s really enjoyable as you have to come up with one-word clues for each word on the board, which usually results in lots of laughter. 

There you have it; some fun online word games you can play for free. If you’re bored of Wordle, these alternatives are more than worth looking into.