The 9 best Wordle alternatives in 2022

I don't think the New York Times will be buying any of these, though

Whether you've grown tired of Wordle, or you simply can't get enough of Word games, we're here to help. We've scoured the web to find a little something for everyone, from BTS superfans to amateur cartographers. Here's a few of our favorite Wordle alternatives to get you started.

1. Heardle

Heardle is Wordle-meets-Name That Tune. While not terribly original, it's very well executed. We all have thought we know a song so well that the first note or two is enough to give it away; Heardle lets you put your skills to the test with songs new and old alike. The game starts off with just the first second of a song, and adds progressively longer clips to the run time until you correctly guess the title. Even if you don't get it right immediately, it's fun to pin down the moment you recognize a song.

2. Worldle

Are you obsessed with geography? Can you name every island chain in the Pacific? Put your confidence to the test with Worldle. Each game starts with just the silhouette of a country, territory, or other geographic region. With after every incorrect guess you're told how far and in which direction from your guess the correct answer is. If you're just too good, and want to level the playing field, you can increase the difficulty by either having the map randomly rotated, or by turning it off altogether and using the directional hints to figure it out.

3. Crosswordle

Crosswordle claims to be "Wordle-meets-Sudoku." The game lets you start from a solved Wordle, and your job is to determine the guesses that led to the solution. While you can try to fill the board out line-by-line, you'll probably have an easier time treating it like a Sudoku--fill in all the squares you have information for, and build out words from there. Crosswordle solutions vary in difficulty from a few words to six words, and while we like the added difficulty, the game occasionally requires us to use words that would be very bad guesses in Wordle.

4. Sweardle

Have you ever thought, "what if instead of 5-letter words, Wordle was 4-letter words?" Sweardle is just that, giving you four guesses to figure out the 4-letter word of the day that would land you in grade school detention. Yes, 4-letter words as in swear words. Is it mature? No. Is it quick and fun? Yes.

5. Squirdle

Squirdle is Wordle for lifelong Pokémon masters. It comes in daily and endless flavors, but rather than just using standard Wordle letter-based rules, every guess you make gives you context clues for the Pokémon of the day. You get eight guesses, and get learn more about the answer with each guess. You'll learn if your answer is from a newer or older generation than your guess, if it's taller or shorter, heavier or lighter, and if you have the right typing. If that doesn't sound hard enough, the list of possible answers also includes regional variations and mega evolutions. This one is plenty hard even if you have Bulbapedia open.

6. Nerdle

If the part of Wordle you want away from is the letters, Nerdle might be what you're looking for. Just like Wordle, you have six guesses--only instead of words you're making a simple math problem. You get all the same position clues, and need to make sure that your equation is actually correct. It has enough similarities to Wordle to remain familiar, but also be a totally different game. Additionally, unlike the vast majority of Wordle-likes, this one does have an app, so you can add this to your daily routine without cluttering up your browser any more than it already is.

7. BTS Wordle

If you're a BTS Stan, or even just a run-of-the-mill fan, BTS-Wordle is a great addition to your daily routine. The word of the day can be anything from a band member's name, to a song title or lyric, or even a reference to something that happened on Twitter. BTS-Wordle feels like a very large inside joke sometimes, since so much of it depends on things intimately familiar to a community of millions, but at the same time can look unintelligible to the uninitiated.

8. Queerdle

Queerdle bills itself as the yassification of Wordle, and that feels very accurate. There are a few things different from traditional Wordle, rules-wise. The word of the day isn't always five letters, it can be from 4 to 8 letters, and sometimes it can actually be two words. Thematically, though, all the words relate to queer culture in one way or another, including memes. When you complete a Queerdle, you'll be met with a picture or GIF that will make it more clear how it fits into the culture, if you weren't aware of the classic life advice of "Be gay, do crime," for example.

9. Antiwordle

The point of Antiwordle is to play a Wordle as poorly as you can, taking as many guesses as possible to arrive at the word of the day. Do your best to make words with as few and uncommon of letters as possible. It can be challenging to find words worse for Wordle than "queue", but that's exactly what you'll have to do to last in Antiwordle. All in all it's a nice change of pace if you wanted to try fun words but didn't want to sabotage your Wordle stats.

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Although our list is certainly enough to whet Worldle fans' appetites, it is, by no means, exhaustive. If you've got any favorite Wordle-esque games you think deserve recognition, feel free to let us know about them in the comments. If you wanted to try out some non-Wordle games, though, check out our list of the best survival games on android, or maybe our list of all the best games on Android right now.