Wordle has been turned into a board game, but it probably shouldn’t have been

Wordle has been turned into a board game, but it probably shouldn’t have been

(Image credit: Hasbro)

Hugely popular online word game Wordle has been adapted into a party board game that’s set to release this October.

Having purchased Wordle earlier this year, The New York Times has partnered with Hasbro to bring the free-to-play viral game to the tabletop. As CNN (opens in new tab) reports, Wordle: The Party Game looks much like the original, but allows you to play with a group of up to three friends using dry erase boards and whiteboard markers.

In the board game, one player will act as the “Wordle Host”, who thinks of a secret five-letter word for the other players to guess. You’ll have six attempts to land on the secret word, racking up points by successfully guessing it in as few tries as possible. Like the original game, the Host will also place translucent green and yellow tiles over any correct letters to provide you with hints.

Check out the game in action in the video below:

A game no one asked for

Expectations for a Wordle board game have never exactly been high. Few people were asking for a tabletop adaptation of the hit word game, but even this attempt by Hasbro to turn the solitary phone puzzler into a four-player party game doesn’t look to have hit the mark.

From Hasbro’s rundown of the game, it doesn’t actually appear particularly suitable for parties. There’s very little player interaction, with each guesser working independently to discover the secret word. In fact, you might be best off not talking to your fellow opponents at all, lest you accidentally give them a hint that spurs them to victory. It all sounds rather solitary, and hardly the rip-roaring collaborative game you’d want to play with your buds.

It sounds a little clumsy, too. The Host has to manually plonk little green and yellow tiles on each person’s board, which are bound to go flying off in every direction without indented spaces to slot them in. Plus, if you’ve got a couple of slowpokes or hardworking brainiacs playing, you may well find yourself waiting around for your fellow players to make their guesses.

The other game modes might mix things up, especially the team-based guessing game. But, really, if they shake up the Wordle formula so much, it stops being a Wordle board game. Maybe Wordle: The Party game will prove brilliant when it releases, but we wouldn’t bet on it.

If you’re looking for a game to whip out with friends and families, check out Herd Mentality. We reckon it’s one of the best board games currently around because of its casual rules and the hilarious mishaps you’re bound to have when playing. 

• Is Wordle better off at The New York Times? We're not convinced...