The New York Times has bought an online word game that is currently making waves around the world.
In the game called Wordle, the user has to find five-letter words in six attempts, but people are attracted by its simple retention and the limitation of playing only once a day.
Jose Verdal of New York, who developed the game, said he was pleased with the response to the game, which was made public in October last year.
He said on Twitter: "The response I received from everyone who played the World Cup has been amazing. The game went on a bigger scale than I had imagined."
He said that he was happy to see a big attraction towards the game made for his girlfriend.
Wordle had made a word game to his girlfriend Palak Shah to spend time in the epidemic.
He made the game public three months ago after expressing interest from friends and family.
Now the number of daily users of that game is one million.
Efforts are being made to replicate the success of the World in dozens of languages.
What Makes Wordle Game So Popular?
"I compare my score with my brother in the morning," says Anandita Jose, a Mumbai-based writer, and journalist.
"He complained that his bedtime was getting late because the further chance to come up with a new word would come only after midnight."
"We are very close and talking about jargon on a daily basis has also enhanced a sense of solidarity."
"Failure is minimal because most combine six times but you don't have to lose to win."
Sam Lake, a British-born teacher living in Hong Kong, said the game was popular among his peers.
"A lot of people compare their scores every day. That's why it's so popular."
Lake speaks more than one language.
He has had varying degrees of success playing World in Swedish, Madrian, and Korean.
Worldwide Edition
Along with the success of the English version, various language versions of the game have also been developed.
So far, the list has 222 variants in 79 languages.
Chennai-based software architect P Shankar has developed a Tamil version of the game, completely removing the six-time guessing limit.
The Tamil language has 12 vowels and 18 consonants, and when combined, there are 200 symbols that make it difficult to guess correctly six times.
"People send me their numbers and I've seen people try 70 to 80 times," Shankar told the BBC.
"I made this game for my nine-year-old daughter, who was initially educated in English and does not speak Tamil. Since then, she has spent time learning new Tamil words with her mother and grandmother, and I have taken that as my success."
Shankar said he did not expect five or more players to be attracted but now 1,500 people come to play every day.
The Purpose Of Literacy
Lau Chak Mingle, an associate professor at the University of Education in Hong Kong, had developed the Cantonese language resource over the years before creating the Jutepin version of the world.
He said, "I first played Wordle about three weeks ago and that made me fat."
"I had a list of words from past Cantonese projects, so that made it easier."
He made the game public at the end of January and has played more than a million games since then.
"I think it's a rare kind of world where people will learn something new."
Lau and Shankar's goal of becoming literate has been further attested by other editions of the game around the world.
Why Successful
Born in Brazil, Fernando Serboncini was inspired by the entertainment industry and created a different version.
"I didn't plan to make it public, but I did send some friends and within a few hours, tens of thousands of people were playing."
"Then it became so popular. I had no control over it and more than a million people were playing."
The version he created is called Thermo and now attracts four million users daily.
Fernando said he was glad to see people playing and that he was trying to improve.
Why Did Wordle Succeed So Quickly?
Its format is not new and it is similar to the mastermind game created in the 1970s.
And other app-based games like Scrabble and Words with Friends have also become popular in recent years.
"It's the character of the world. It's simple and it doesn't try to do anything unnatural."
"I think it amazes people because we're used to other methods of more aggressive interaction."
"It only takes you five minutes, gives you some entertainment, and sets you free."
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