Dictionary biz finally infiltrates gaming as Merriam-Webster buys Quordle

A sample game of Quordle. (credit: Merriam-Webster)

A year ago, the Wordle phenomenon was so huge that the venerable New York Times spent a "low seven-figure" sum to acquire the game and its massive player base. Now, a year later, the word-guessing game is still popular enough that blatant Wordle clone Quordle has been purchased by dictionary maker Merriam-Webster.

As the name suggests, Quordle is simply a game of Wordle multiplied by four, with each guess simultaneously filling in information on all four boards. It's part of a wave of similar "multi-Wordle" clones that started with Dordle last January and has since expanded to include the ridiculous 100-fold guessing of Centordle and the absolutely ludicrous 1,000-fold Kilordle.

Apparently "four at a time" was the sweet spot for Merriam-Webster, a 192-year-old dictionary company that isn't exactly known for daily puzzles in the same way that The New York Times is. But the Merriam-Webster website has included some basic word games and quizzes since as least 2015. And while the modern version of that Games & Quizzes landing page doesn't currently mention Quordle, the main Merriam-Webster website prominently features it as "a new daily challenge."

Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments

from Gaming & Culture – Ars Technica https://ift.tt/vqCdlmj