"It is the brain, the little grey cells on which one must rely."
The quote above is from Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. It is true, of course... we must keep our brains ticking! Do you like to do word puzzles? I do! I have often enjoyed crossword puzzles and also, making words out of just a few letters...so, when Richard got us a weekend subscription to the New York Times, I was pleased to learn that it also gave us access to the Crossword puzzle, the Mini Crossword puzzle and the Spelling Bee! (To be honest, I never have time to do the long crossword, but I am very good at the Mini Crossword and the Spelling Bee. Oh, and the Boxed Letters, I am BRILLIANT!) A software engineer by the name of Josh Wardle (remember that name!) liked the Spelling Bee game very much also. (You are given 7 letters to make words. They are in a shape of a hive, the middle letter being in yellow, and that letter must be in each word.) Josh Wardle and his partner enjoyed playing it together, just as Richard and I do! In fact, they liked it so very much that he came up with a different game and in a play on his name, he called it "WORDLE"! It is a game where you must guess a five-letter word in six guesses. This game was just released in October of 2021 and yet, it is now enjoyed by millions, and it is still free for everyone. (As I type this post that is true, I am not sure for how long that will be so.) The interesting thing for me is that Josh Wardle is a Brit (born in Wales) and some of the words might be more familiar to British/English speakers! Having said that, all the words seem to be quite easy. Here is one word that was used - "M-I-D-G-E".
How that amused me! I didn't think of that myself (Richard got that one) but of course, I well remember Graham and his friend Pat talking of the midges that drive them crazy on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides in the summer! (I am not familiar with midges myself. We might have them in Georgia, but it would be the MOSQUITOES that you have to watch out for, the blood sucking little MONSTERS.)
Oh dear, let me get back to the gentle subject of word games and not think of dangerous insects.... So, do any of you play Wordle? I'm sure you do! If not and I get you "hooked" on it, you will thank me, if you like these kinds of games! I first heard of the game back in February. There was a story of a woman who lived in Chicago who was being held hostage in her own basement. The woman lived alone, yet the police had been called to check on her. Why? It was because her daughter (who lived on the West Coast!) had not received a text from her mom letting her know her mom's daily Wordle score. The woman was rescued!
So... maybe that daily Wordle habit is not a bad one to have and if it helps to keep our brains in fine fettle, I am a fan.
Here is a shout out to our friends in England, Henry and Sarah! We love that you also enjoy Wordle! Who knows, by the time we see each other again you might be able to have the Wordle game in a board game! Oh yes, you know HASBRO had to get in on the fun. You may read about it here!
One more thing...and I know I drive y'all crazy about films but Josh Wardle has a brother, Tim Wardle who is a film director! "Three Identical Strangers" is his 2018 documentary about identical triplet brothers adopted at birth by different families. They discovered each other at the age of 19, just by chance in 1980. I really liked this movie! And to find out that the director is related to the man who invented "Wordle"...isn't that interesting?
Here's a five letter word for you...
poppy!
Keep on playing those mind games forever....
Oh yes, I'm a Wordle fan! My sister and I play it every day and email each other our results. And I did get the MIDGE one because I knew that's the Brit word for mosquito! Oddly enough, even when it was a purely British game (i.e. before the NY Times bought it out), all the spelling were US spellings, not British e.g. "humor" not "humour" would be a solution. Anyway, we're living in dread of the day the NY Times puts it behind a paywall.
ReplyDeleteOnly thing, midges don't suck your blood! Lucky Brits. I liked learning of the background story of the game and that his brother was a director that I liked. I think it's fun but also very quick!
DeleteNot a "wordler" myself, as I am already spending too much time online as it is, but I really like the story behind it, so thank you for that :-)
ReplyDeleteMy Mum, my sister and I exchange a text simply saying "good morning" with each other, every morning. We started that after our Dad fell down the stairs on New Year's morning of 2018 - or was it 19? Anyway, this way my sister and I are sure our parents are both up and about. If sometimes our Mum gets up a little later, or is simply late in sending her good morning, we get worried; we both have keys to their flat and could be there within 10 minutes.
I am so glad that you or your sister can get to your Mum and Dad in 10 minutes! That is a blessing. Like you, it is always the STORY of things that I find interesting. The thing about Wordle is that it really doesn't take up much time and when all those letters turn over to GREEN (which means you have gotten it right) it makes one so very happy!
DeleteYes I do the one wordle every day and the scramble word in the paper on the days I work. I have played scrabble for years.
ReplyDeletecathy
Ah, SCRABBLE. We also are a Scrabble family too! Hope you are doing well, my friend!
DeleteI've always enjoyed the crossword puzzle. I have known some to get the newspaper just so they'd have the crossword to do. I buy the books with the answers in the back so that if I get stuck I can look for the correct answer. Sure does help Ha! We do need to keep our minds active and I do that by reading a lot. It's a good way to do just that. Hope you enjoy your weekend. It's a lovely one here. Love, ma
ReplyDeleteOh yes, look up the answers if you get stuck! No need to stress out over games, they are supposed to be fun. Hope you are staying cool in your part of the country! xx
DeleteI love word games. I play most of them.
ReplyDeleteMe too! Why, I even play sudoku sometimes but only if they are EASY. LOL!!
DeleteI got hooked on Wordle recently and I'm pretty good at if I do say so myself! (which I just did!). My sister got me going with it but lately she's fed up with the crazy words. However, I got Midge very quickly and she didn't get it at all. Funny thing is, Midge is her name! Ha! Her name is really Mary but she's been Midge to her family and friends since she was a baby. I had to rub it in a bit when she couldn't get her own name! I pretty much suck at crosswords but I'm giving them another try. Maybe I've gotten better over the years? I'm happy to see Wordle will be a board game. Now I have something to give Midge for Christmas that will surely make her either laugh or hit me with it!
ReplyDeleteI thought of your sister MIDGE when we got that word!! HA HA!
DeleteAnd funnily enough, I often have a hard time with words with they contain the letter "K"! Isn't Wordle fun? That's the main thing, it is a game, after all and should be something that amuses us and perhaps helps our brains too!
Wordle is great fun, and so is Nerdle, like Wordle but using numbers and equations. Other places have midges, we have chiggers/redbugs here, probably about the same.
ReplyDeleteWord Games, yes! Numbers games? I'm not so sure that I can say they are for me but whatever floats your boat, I say! Enjoy and keep the brain ticking!! And watch out for chiggers and ticks, we have them too. Take care!
DeleteYeeesss... My son, daughter and granddaughter do WORDLE every morning. I hate MIDGE! Sheesh! We send each other our results with an appropriate GIF. I do get crazy on some mornings though. By the way, I've got a post coming up next Wednesday about advice I'd love to have for London. If you have any, I'd love it.
ReplyDeleteGoing to London? Take me with you! Please! Oh, how much I love it, that is all I can say. Advice? I would say to do the things that you and Art want to do the most (museums, galleries, etc.) but don't forget to simply walk around one of the many parks in London, to look up at buildings that catch your eye, and also, to ALWAYS look over your right shoulder when you are crossing a street. It costs nothing to appreciate nature and beautiful architecture! (My husband and I very much like to walk over as many bridges as possible while we are in London! Great photos from them!)
DeleteThank you, Kay. I'm thinking Tower Bridge. We've never actually gone on it and it's close to the Tower of London. And then there's the matter of the London Pass, the Oyster card and I don't know what else. We'll have until next spring to plan.
DeleteThe London Pass is a great idea! The Oyster card too if you think you will use buses and the Underground. Tower Bridge is beautiful!! You can even walk across the top of it!! Our son has done that! Make sure you have good walking shoes and always carry an umbrella.😊
DeleteThank you for the reminder about the umbrellas. Viking provides gigantic umbrellas, but I'd better bring the small folding ones.
DeleteIf you're like me, the best way for it not to rain is to carry an umbrella! LOL!
DeleteDear Kay, I've been playing NYTWordle, Wordle Unlimited, and Quordle for about five months now. They are my new addiction! And I believe they have helped my aging ming (86 years) as I've always been a lousy speller and I'm getting better because of this game.
ReplyDeleteI have a subscription to the NYTimes and every week I see all those other games, but I haven't tried them yet because I think they will be too challenging. We'll see. Maybe I'll get up my courage and not let my learning disability not bamboozle me.
Thanks for the info on them. I do so appreciate the way you enjoy life. You are a light in the midst of the daily fog of pessimism that seems so prevalent right now. Peace. Dee Ready (cominghometomyself blog)
Dear Dee, Thanks so much for your lovely comment here! How wonderful it is to be considered a light in this dark world, I do thank you. Now, I have to tell you that you MUST try those other games that are offered by NYTimes! I really love the Mini Crossword, the Spelling Bee and the Letter Boxed game. Promise me that you will try them too! If I can do them, anyone can, I truly mean that!! Why, I even like the Sudoku sometimes! Now, my very favorite though is the WORDLE, I really get such a great satisfaction to get that daily word! My husband and I have been doing it just for the past couple of months but we enjoy it very much! As my post says, we must keep our brains ticking! Once again, lovely to see your comment here. Take care of yourself and be at peace, always. x
DeleteOK, Kay !!! I’ll give them a try the ones you recommended and then report in after I’ve tried them for a couple of weeks. Do you do the Quordle— finding four words in nine tries? I tell you on those days that I get four right I am shouting, hip hip hooray! Peace, Dee
DeleteI do hope you will try those other games! I looked up Quordle and it looks as if it is something that you have to download so I better not try it. My old phone can't handle much. AND I don't know if I can handle four words anyway! LOL!!
DeleteI don't play the word game but I'm packed for London...!!!Lolol
ReplyDeletehughugs
Take me with you!! I ❤ London!! Hugs to you!!
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