Wordle
The most recent puzzle fascinating the Internet is Wordle. I’ll admit, it’s habit forming and I’ve added it to my morning puzzle repertoire. The New York Times (NYT) bought the game from its developer, so there’s concern they may change it or charge a fee. And, they’ve already begun ad-tracking with the game. Davey Winder, Forbes Magazine Senior Contributor Cybersecurity says the Safari browser on iOS (Apple) devices prevents profiling, so that’s a way to foil trackers for now. Another method is to download the game to your device or PC. Because the game’s coding runs client-side (on your device instead of on Internet servers) you can download it (for now) and play it locally on your device. I provide download instructions at the end of the article so you can play the game directly on your device rather than visiting the website.
The site consists of a 5 X 6 grid. You have six chances to guess the five-letter word of the day. Beginning with the first row, you type five letters and press Enter/Return. The tiles “flip over” to give you clues about the letters - gray tile indicates the letter is not used, gold indicates the letter is in the word but in the wrong position, and green indicates the correct letter in the correct position. The app tracks your game results, but if you clear cookies/site information you will lose your stats..
Before downloading, understand the NYT has made some changes. They've removed some words that may be offensive. There are complaints the puzzle is more difficult now. I've noticed a few harder to solve words, but I can't conclude this is because NYT caused it.
iPad download instructions.
You need the Edge browser installed. Firefox and Safari will not open the game. Chrome may work, but I've not tried it.
1. At the Wordle website (see link at top), tap the action button (square with arrow).
2. At very top of the new window, tap Options and then web archive. Go back one screen.
3. In the menu at bottom, tap save to Files and put it in a location of your choice within the Files app.
4. To play, long tap the file name in the Files app and release.
5. Scroll the second row of icons until you find Edge and tap it.
6. Allow Edge to open the file
PC Download Instructions
The process depends on your browser. Usually, you right-click in the web page and choose to download the site or Save page as….. or maybe Save for offsite viewing. After saving it on your computer, navigate to it in your file manager app and double click it. It should open in your default browser.
Note: Your stats are not shared across devices. Each game is its own entity. For example, game history on your iPad will not be shared to your iPhone or computer.
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