We’ve all seen it by now – those grey, green and yellow boxes infiltrating your Facebook feed like algae in warm weather. 

There are two responses to Wordle posts, I’ve realised: 

1) Wtf is this? Why is everyone spamming social media with these coloured squares?

2) Addicted

A hit sensation seemingly overnight, the free online word game is like Scrabble or Words with Friends, but for 2022. It can also be described as an alphabet version of the classic game Mastermind.

Anyone who has a grasp of five-letter words in the English language can play. Even my kids. It’s ensnared Sudoku fans and crossword fanatics; it’s free and solvable when so much in life at the moment feels insurmountable; and it’s a quick time out – the perfect late-pandemic viral game.

While in the early part of the pandemic, I pored over lose-myself-for-hours jigsaws, at this point, with life getting busy again, time is at a premium, and so the quick nature of Wordle makes it appealing. The platform also only offers one game a day. Once you’re done, that it’s. You have to move on with your day.    

Think of it as a brain snack for those who don’t have the time, patience or energy for anything more consuming. The banana bread of Omicron.

But that’s not to say it isn’t totally absorbing. We now have a fun new family Wordle WhatsApp group, in which competitive streaks are flexed.  

I’ve always been one of our family’s wordsmiths, whereas my brother always had a knack for numbers. Recently, this balance has been upended. When we started out, I was just throwing letters at the squares haphazardly, while my brother, much more methodical than me, finished in fewer tries every time. 

Other family members had paid closer attention to the rules, so knew they could use the same letter more than once.

Then my brother got a Wordle hole-in-one! Although I’m pretty sure he cheated on that one!

Created by software developer Josh Wardle as a lockdown game for his crossword-loving partner, Wordle’s simplicity (it’s ad-free, with no paid upgrades) is its charm. Although let’s see what happens now the New York Times has acquired the popular word game for an undisclosed seven-figure price tag.

Having seriously upped my game to compete with my family and several friends too, here are a few more Wordle observations: 

• When my first wordle guess is all grey, it’s a bad start to the day
• There are fewer things more frustrating than guessing a five-letter word that fits perfectly, only to get another grey, green and yellow row
• If I finish my daily Wordle super early, there’s a 23-hour wait for the next one. Remember waiting a whole week in between TV episodes? It’s a bit like that
• I’ve thought about trying one of those knock-off apps where you get unlimited games (Got anymore of that Wordle? I need more man), but am resisting in case it spoils the fun
• I’ve had my eyes opened to the fact that white box emojis mean some people aren’t using dark mode 24/7
• While mostly an uplifting puzzle, it does come with dispiriting moments. “I did badly today,” a friend told me. “I didn’t even try it yesterday. I was thrown by Grandma Mary getting it in two”
• If you don’t post your Wordle, did you even do it?