Buzz
In the world of Wordle alternatives, creating competitive versions can be especially tough. What does it mean to compete? How do you interact with others? How satisfying is victory, and how painful is defeat? Squabble is chaotic and intense, and P3nto is nearly impossible to decipher. But a new game, Mordle, has quickly become my favorite.
In Mordle, you’ll wait briefly while the lobby fills with other players. Up to 100 participants can join; most of the games I played had 20-30 players.
Once the game starts, you’re presented with a Wordle-style board. Everyone plays the same puzzle, and it’s a race to solve it first. If you run out of guesses, you’re out. A scoreboard at the top shows how many players have lost, solved the puzzle, or are still in the game.
In my first game, I came out on top, securing first place out of 30 players. The next round was trickier, and I finished 11th out of 20. Then I took second place out of 19, but in the next game, I made a wrong guess on my final attempt and lost. (Just like Wordle, you get six guesses per puzzle.)
You're racing against a five-minute clock while trying to outplay others. I managed to take my time between guesses and still perform well, which means others were likely doing the same. This sets it apart from Squabble, where speed is more crucial. (In Squabble, failing to solve a puzzle doesn’t eliminate you, it only reduces your score.)
Mordle also has a 'sprint' mode, where you need to solve three puzzles within ten minutes. The first person to get all three correct wins; in my first try, I placed eighth out of 31. The developers also teased an upcoming 'elevenses' mode, where you'll try to solve as many puzzles as you can in ten minutes, and the person with the most correct answers wins. I'm in!
