"Word Lanes", "Words of Wonder", "Wordscapes" and whatever they are called: there are plenty of word puzzle apps, some of which have been downloaded a million times.
But if you don't invest money in the programs, annoying commercials and pop-ups often cause frustration.
The browser-based word game »Wordle«, which is reminiscent of the board game »Superhirn« or »Mastermind«, is different.
A five-letter English word should be guessed in a maximum of six attempts.
Correctly placed letters are marked in green, correct letters in the wrong place are marked in yellow, and incorrect ones are grayed out.
The inventor of the game, the programmer Josh Wardle, surprisingly doesn't want to earn any money with "Wordle".
He neither collects personal data about the users, nor screams ads from the almost elegant looking website.
At the same time, there is another trick that turns the game into a social experience: every day there is only one puzzle that is the same for everyone - and a share function enables you to share your own result.
The rate progression is visualized by gray, yellow and green icon blocks, which tells others a lot and very little at the same time.
A master of his craft
Josh Wardle has long been an expert on such small, fine gadgets.
He was responsible for “The Button” (2015) and “Place” (2017), among others.
Both projects, which Wardle had implemented on the platform of his longtime employer Reddit, were equal parts free, easy-to-understand mini-games and social experiments.
Wardle invented "Wordle" in 2020 as a kind of token of love for his partner, because during the pandemic the couple had developed a common preference for the daily crossword puzzle in the "New York Times".
In order not to have to plunge into the quagmire of free-to-play apps for the daily dose of puzzles, Wardle built the mini-puzzle, which changes every 24 hours and which he put online in June 2021, based on 2500 words.
After a subdued start and allegedly only 90 active puzzle fans in November, several hundred thousand users are now said to be staring at Wardle boxes every day and puzzling over the bet.
You can go straight to today's puzzle here - and in the event that you have long been caught up in "Wordle" fever or are simply looking for an alternative, we will introduce you to three more daily online challenges below.
Where did I end up here?
A classic among online puzzles is called »Geoguessr«.
With a click, the game, whose language can also be set to German, beams you to a randomly selected location in Google Street View, regardless of whether it is a big city or a tiny village.
Within the scope of the possibilities offered by Street View, users can move around freely in that location in order to search for clues to their virtual whereabouts.
Then they mark their tip on a world map.
The closer you are to the actual location, the more points you get.
The Swedish IT consultant Anton Wallén put the game online in 2013.
In 2021, however, it again received a lot of attention from streamers such as the former Twitch King Ludwig.
The daily challenge, the so-called Daily Challenge, is a special form of the game in five rounds with a time limit of three minutes per round.
If you want to play it, you have to create an account, but don't pay any money, because 20 minutes of »Geoguessr« are free every day.
The crossword classic in small format
When it comes to crossword puzzles, many in English-speaking countries think of the New York Times.
The classic puzzle that encourages people to think outside the box has been appearing in the printed newspaper since 1942, and in 2007 the New York Times Crossword even made it as a separate game on Nintendo's handheld DS.
In the meantime, the popular puzzle is of course also available online, but a separate subscription is required to access it.
The situation is different with “The Mini Crossword”, which has appeared on the New York Times website since 2014.
Day after day, a lot of creativity and humor are packed into the five by five fields.
"The Mini Crossword" has long since become a classic.
Anyone who speaks English well and has a little knowledge of slang is challenged anew every day.
Mystery?
Logical!
"Brilliant" succeeds in a small miracle: The online puzzle in English manages to convey mathematical, physical and chemical knowledge in a playful way, without making an effort - because the portions of knowledge it wants to pass on are more like little portions.
To participate in the daily puzzles that revolve around recognizing patterns, thermodynamics or even logic problems, all you have to do is create an account on the website and be content with subtle advertising.
Because actually »Brilliant« sees itself as a learning platform with natural science courses, which it advertises with banners.
The daily challenges under the "Today" tab, however, are free and always worth a look.