Wordle: The Party Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Get ready
• Contents
• Aim
• What's different?
  • Take turns being the Wordle Host
  • Compete to solve the Wordle
  • Play in rounds
• Playing a round
• Scoring
• Valid words
• Starting the next round
• Winning
• Tips and tricks
  • Picking a good Secret Word
  • Guessing strategies
• Accessibility
• Variations
  • Timed mode
  • Fast mode
  • Team mode
• Board care
• Need a word?

Get ready

1. Pick someone to be the Wordle Host this round.
2. The Wordle Host takes the Secret Word board and writes each player's name in the scoring table, starting with their own.
3. Everyone else takes a Wordle board, dry-wipe marker and shield. Use the shield to hide your board from opponents.
4. Grab some paper towels or a cloth for rubbing out.

Contents

• 3 Wordle boards
• 3 shields
• 1 Secret Word board
• 3 dry-wipe markers
• 45 green tiles
• 45 yellow tiles

Aim

Guess the Wordle in the fewest tries (six max). The fewer tries you need, the fewer points you'll score. At the end of the game, the player with the fewest points wins.

What's different?

Take turns being the Wordle Host

Each round, the Host writes down a Secret Word that everyone else tries to guess.

Compete to solve the Wordle

Just like the digital version of Wordle, you get six tries to guess the word. But in this game, you're competing against your friends. Aim to guess the word before them, in the fewest tries, to score the fewest points.

Play in rounds

A game consists of as many rounds as there are players. When every player has taken a turn hosting, the game ends and the player with the fewest points wins.

Playing a round

1. The Host picks a five-letter word and writes it on the Secret Word board, without letting anyone see. They can use the word list at the end of these rules for inspiration or come up with their own word (see VALID WORDS). Once they've written a word, they flip over the board to hide it.

   Wordle Host, don't pick a word that's too hard for your guessers.

2. Everyone else takes their first guess, writing a five letter word in the top row of their Wordle grid.

3. Once you've written a word, the Host reviews your guess and places green and yellow tiles over letters as follows:

   • Place a green tile over any letter that is in the word and in the correct place.
   • Place a yellow tile over any letter that is in the word but in the wrong place.
   • Any letters that are not covered by a tile cannot be found in the word at all.

   Wordle Host, carry the Secret Word board with you and review guesses letter by letter to avoid errors in tile placement. Made a mistake? Correct that row immediately. The guesser rubs out all the rows beneath the error and continues playing from there.

   The printed rulebook illustrates this with an example. If the Secret Word is SOLVE and the guess is SMILE:

   • The letters S and E are in the word and in the correct place.
   • L is in the word but in the wrong place.
   • M and I are not in the word in any place.

4. The Host announces how many green and/or yellow tiles are given, but they must not reveal the letters. At the bottom of their Wordle boards, players cross out any letters they used that are not in the word.

5. Now players guess again! Keep going until everyone has either solved the Wordle or reached six tries. (The Host announces when a player has solved the Wordle, but must not reveal the Secret Word.)

Scoring

Guessers score points based on how many tries they needed that round.

• Players who guessed the Wordle score one point per try. (Ex.: If they solved the Wordle in four tries, they score four points.)
• Players who didn't guess the Wordle score seven points.

The Host for that round doesn't score any points.

Valid words

Secret Words and guesses may be any five-letter word listed in the dictionary of your choice. There are the following exceptions:

You may not write:

• Plural words as a Secret Word. You may, however, write guesses that are plural.
• Proper nouns.
• Words in other languages.
• Abbreviations (e.g. THURS).
• Acronyms (e.g. POTUS).
• Free-standing prefixes or suffixes (e.g. MILLI).
• Hyphenated words (e.g. XRAYS).
• Contractions (e.g. THEYD, DIDNT).

The Wordle Host has the right to challenge any guesses. If that word doesn't appear in the dictionary or goes against the rules above, the guesser rubs out that word and writes a new one.

Starting the next round

Wipe off your Wordle boards and the Secret Word, and get ready for a new Wordle! The role of Wordle Host passes down the player list on the scoreboard. If you have four players, the new Host will need to give their Wordle board, shield and marker to the previous Host so they can now guess.

Winning

Play as many rounds as there are players, so that everyone has a turn as Wordle Host. Once the game is over, add up each player's scores from each round. The player with the fewest points wins!

Tips and tricks

Picking a good Secret Word

• Know your audience! Avoid choosing an obscure word that will frustrate guessers.
• Got some pro Wordlers? Try a challenging word, such as one with double letters or few vowels.
• If you're not sure how to spell your Secret Word, best to look it up before you write it down.
• Does a guess include multiple instances of a letter that only appears once in the Secret Word? If one of those letters is in the correct spot, code it green and leave the other uncovered. If both are in the wrong spot, code just one yellow.
• If everyone's struggling to make a guess, try giving a hint.

Guessing strategies

• Consider the Wordle Host's personality. What kind of word might they pick?
• Start with a word that has a lot of vowels.
• Try to use different letters in your second guess. It's all about the process of elimination.
• Don't forget to cross out any letters you've used that are not in the word. It may be helpful to mark any letters that are in the word.
• Totally stumped? You can give up and score a seven for the round.
• Watch out for those sneaky double letters. Just because a letter is green or yellow doesn't mean it won't appear again.

Accessibility

Here are some ways to adapt gameplay so it's accessible to all players.

• If the Host is colour blind or has any difficulty placing tiles, have them review letter by letter and announce if a green or yellow tile should be placed. The guesser places those tiles for them.
• For any colour-blind guessers, point out which letters have a green tile and have them underline that letter, so they know it's in the correct location.

Variations

Timed mode

Guessers taking too long? Have the Host set a 60- or 90-second timer for each guess. If a guesser doesn't write a word before time's up, they must cross out that row and move to the next one.

Fast mode

Try this for a speedier game. It plays just like the core game, except guessers race to solve the Wordle first rather than in the fewest tries. The round ends immediately when a player solves the Wordle (still within six tries). They score one point, and everyone else scores zero. At the end of the game, the player with the most points wins.

Team mode

If you have more than four players (or just want to combine brain power), team up! Play is the same as the core rules, just with teams taking turns as Host.

Board care

1. At the end of every game, wipe the Wordle boards and Secret Word board with a clean cloth to remove ink. If needed, you may use a clean, damp cloth.
2. The markers included in this game use a dry-wipe ink. Use only dry-wipe ink on the boards.

Stain advisement: Ink will stain clothing, furniture and other surfaces. Adult supervision recommended.

Need a word?

The word list below is printed at the end of the rules for the Host's inspiration (see Playing a round, step 1). It is reproduced row by row as printed.

• ABATE · CATER · ERROR · HATCH · OUTDO · SCARE · THEIR
• ABBEY · CHAMP · ESSAY · HEATH · PANEL · SEEDY · THORN
• ABYSS · CHANT · EVADE · HELIX · PANIC · SERVE · THOSE
• ACUTE · CHEAT · EXULT · HERON · PAPER · SHAKE · THUMB
• ADOBE · CHEEK · FEIGN · HOARD · PAUSE · SHALL · TIGER
• AGREE · CHEST · FERRY · HYPER · PEACH · SHAWL · TODAY
• AHEAD · CHILL · FEWER · ISLET · PERCH · SHRUB · TRACE
• ALLOW · CIVIC · FINER · IVORY · PICKY · SIEGE · TRIAD
• ALOFT · CLICK · FIRST · JAUNT · PILOT · SKILL · TROLL
• ALONE · CLOCK · FIXER · KNOLL · PITHY · SLOSH · TROPE
• ALTAR · CLOTH · FJORD · KARMA · PLEAT · SLUMP · TROVE
• AMPLE · CLUCK · FLAIR · KEBAB · PLUCK · SMART · TWEED
• ARGUE · COAST · FLICK · LAPEL · POINT · SOLAR · ULTRA
• AROMA · COMET · FLING · LAPSE · PRIDE · SOLVE · UNIFY
• ASIDE · COMMA · FLOSS · LIGHT · PRINT · SONIC · UNMET
• AUDIT · CONIC · FOCAL · LINEN · PROVE · SPEND · USHER
• AWAKE · CORNY · FOCUS · LOOPY · PROXY · SPICY · USING
• BADLY · COULD · FORAY · LOWLY · QUERY · SPIKE · VIRAL
• BANAL · CRANK · FORGE · LYING · QUIET · SPILL · VITAL
• BASIC · CRATE · FORTH · MAJOR · RADIO · SPRAY · VIVID
• BATON · CRAZE · FOUND · MARRY · REACT · SQUAD · WATCH
• BELLY · CRIMP · FOYER · MAXIM · REBUS · STAFF · WEARY
• BENCH · CRUST · FRAME · MIMIC · REBUT · STAIR · WINCE