How Wordle Brings Our Team Together

Here at Trampoline, Wordle captured our attention fast. Creating a dedicated Slack channel was the first step in the making of a daily collective ritual. Before some of us have arrived at work and waved hello, we’ve shared our Wordle scores with one another. Even while staff are on vacation or off sick, their dedication remains. It’s hard to remember a time when something paired better with coffee. 

The daily word game began as a love story, grew organically, and was recently acquired by the New York Times. It wasn’t just us who fell hard. In January 2022, the game had 300,000 players, but just one week later, 2 million people played.

Sharing is Caring

Wordle got a lot of things right. The game is simple, engaging, and can only be played once a day. It requires strategy, but not too much – the game is accessible to everyone. But what Wordle might have nailed most is the shareability of its score. 

“It’s incredible that a simple little word game has been able to bring people together to share the same experience every day—often around the same time of day as well. It’s a water-cooler event in a time when those just don’t exist anymore,” says Trevor Millett, Creative Director. 

We are social animals, craving connection no matter our astrological sign. The past few years have repeatedly robbed us of fulfilling this instinct, and Wordle seems to be in tune with that. Plus, sharing your score is an easy way to interact without any pangs of social anxiety or need for small talk.

Starting the Day With a Win

The social element also introduces accountability, making little ‘wins’ even more satisfying.

“Small victories first thing in the morning, every morning, are gratifying. Wordle is easy enough so that you can almost always get the answer within 6 attempts, but challenging enough so that you feel like you had to work for it,” says Stephanie Pelley, Associate Media Director.

Since the popularization of Wordle, app developers have taken note. Many emulations of the game have emerged: there’s Heardle, Quordle and Queerdle, to name a few. While the elements of each game are different, a key fundamental remains: these games all share the same opportunity for bragging rights without revealing the answer.

There’s something comforting in that no matter how busy and different our schedules might be, Wordle is there to unite us (even if just for a few minutes). Each day, there’s a familiar opportunity to bond over a shared experience. To bond over a challenge, overcome it, and know we will do it all over again tomorrow.