Wordle game fans are upset about changes by NYT version

Wordle moved from its authentic web address to the one run through the New York Times (NYT) and a few gamers aren’t happy about that.

People who still play it because they haven’t downloaded the word game from the original website or updated their browser, the NYT version of the word guesses are different.

That is because the paper has removed five-letter words it deemed offensive.

But it has denied the other big fans’ complaint – that it has got harder.

The game, which asks gamers to discover a five-letter word every day with clues alongside the way, has grown in reputation from fewer than a hundred gamers in November to tens of thousands and thousands by the end of January.

Its creator, Josh Wardle, initially said he didn’t intend to make money from the game but later sold it to the NYT for an undisclosed seven-figure sum.

Many fans took to Twitter to complain that since the NYT took over its stewardship – with words such as ultra and caulk – the puzzle appeared more challenging.

Comedian Trevor Noah shared people’s feelings, tweeting: “Wordle isn’t fun since the New York Times took over. Is it just me?”

I thought @roywoodjr was just joking but it really feels like Wordle isn’t fun since the New York Times took over. Is it just me??🧐

— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) February 14, 2022

And another player, Denise Dewald, felt that the game had lost some of its original appeal – simplicity.

One of the joys of Wordle was that it was not too hard. It was a brief respite of feeling like things in the world were actually solvable.

And the @nytimes had to come along and ruin it.

Dudes, it’s not supposed to be like the NYT crossword. It’s like Jumble, only shorter.

— Denise Dewald, MD 🗽 (@denise_dewald) February 15, 2022

The NYT denied any changes to gameplay, but it did admit that it was in the process of removing “offensive words” which included whore, slave and wench from both the list of acceptable guesses and the answers.

That is why players of the original version are now out of sync with the NYT version.

Was your Wordle answer (Wordle #241) AGORA yesterday? You could still be on the old Wordle site. Give your browser a refresh to be redirected to the NYT site and guess today’s word. pic.twitter.com/US82NuhJAV

— New York Times Games (@NYTGames) February 16, 2022