NYT’s new WordleBot tries to gamify something that probably doesn’t need it
by Richard Lawler from The Verge - All Posts on (#5XZQ8)
photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images We are several months into our new Wordle era (along with an expanded universe of clones like Worldle, Heardle, Numble, Poeltl, and many others) and a little over two months into The New York Times acting as stewards of the game after a low seven figures" purchase. Besides altering the word list, the Times is introducing its biggest change yet by adding WordleBot, a tool that serves as a daily companion" for your new favorite puzzle game.
Like Wordle itself, WordleBot operates in the browser and runs locally, evaluating the completed puzzles on whatever computer and stored session you're using to play. As The New York Times describes it, the bot started as an attempt to mathematically prove the best starting word, developed with its...