‘Wordle’ takes over TikTok

TikTok has welcomed Wordle with open arms.

The simple word puzzle game that captivated the internet, spawned numerous imitations, and got snatched up by the New York Times for a seven-figure payout, is the subject of a growing trend of people who post videos and livestreams of their games on TikTok.

It’s a natural pairing. Half the fun of playing Wordle is talking about it. Bragging about your streak, strategizing over which word to start with, analyzing the probabilities of letter combinations… There’s so much to discuss. It makes sense that playing Wordle has made its way to the highly engaging social media platform. Plus, people like watching other people play games — just look at the success of livestream gaming platform Twitch, which made $2.2 billion in 2020. 

And, sure, people are also playing Wordle on Twitch, but it’s a less casual vibe. In comparison, creators have gained a Wordle following on TikTok not because they’re expert-level gamers, but because they’re deeply relatable. Kenny Haller (@kennyhaller), a 22-year-old Twitch streamer and content creator from New York, first started playing Wordle on Twitch. But then he posted an edited version of that video on TikTok.

With the first guess, Haller establishes that the word starts with “s.” But the next four guesses are excruciating as he tries and fails to come up with the right word, talking through his process the whole time. On the fifth try, he finally comes up with correct word (“sugar”) and laughingly says, “I’m so dumb, I’m so bad at video games.” That video now has 4.7 million views. 

Undoubtedly, anyone who has played Wordle has experienced a moment like that, where the word is so seemingly obvious, but you just can’t see it. Since that video was posted about two months ago, Haller has made videos everyday about Wordle or Wordle clones. He now has 80,000 followers. “The response has honestly been crazy,” Haller said. 

To be fair, Haller is pretty good. He usually gets the answer within two or three guesses. He starts with words that have commonly used letters; he tests out different words and letter combinations by filling in the blank spaces with “x” as a placeholder. But being a Wordle creator isn’t about being good. It’s about tapping into people’s obsession with the simple puzzle game. 

TikTok favors the passionate. And Wordle passion seems to transcend any kind of content strategy. Even people who aren’t content savvy professionals like Haller have gained viral attention from their Wordle TikToks. 

Stephen Stallings, a music supervisor from New York, discovered Wordle through his love of games. (He grew up watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune with his grandmother.) “I talk a lot in my videos about using ‘r, s, t, l, n, e’ as kind of a basis,” he says. “All just comes from a childhood full of Wheel of Fortune,” where that’s the classic first-letter selection.

Maybe try “h” instead of “l”?
Credit: Screenshot: TikTok / @wordletips

Way back in January when Wordle was just gaining momentum, Stallings won an early game with two guesses by starting with the now established strategic word “adieu.” He decided to make a TikTok account so he could post a video about it and share Wordle tips. About a week after Stallings started @wordletips, he was interviewed for The New Yorker about his account. Now he has over 70,000 followers and 1.4 million likes. 

On TikTok, the hashtag #wordle has over 647 million views, populated by people sharing the screen (via split screen or green screen) with the iconic grid. There are videos of Wordle streaks ending in devastating fashion and fiery discourse about the best starting word, including one from @domskibop, who unapologetically says, “If you start with ‘adieu’ on Wordle everyday, you’re a coward.”

“I’m not a person who is good at social media. I come from the MySpace era where social media was not even a thing,” said Stallings, 32, who is married with a 4-year-old child and a dog. “So, it was never like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna use all my best TikTok strategies to try to blow this up,’ it was just like, ‘I’m gonna post dorky content on TikTok.”’ 

Intent on making the game as fair as possible for everyone, Haller and Stallings both take pains to avoid spoilers for themselves and others. Haller says he changes the date on his computer so that he can play a day in advance and then restricts that answer in his settings so people can’t spoil it in comments of the corresponding video. Wanting to prevent people from posting spoilers, Stallings declined to share any details about his method.

The word “adieu” is suddenly a lightning rod for controversy.
Credit: Screenshot: TikTok / @wordletips

Stallings attributes the overwhelming interest in his account to like-minded people who are “process-oriented” and enjoy understanding how something is done. But there’s also something about TikTok that makes it the perfect medium. When Stallings created his TikTok account, he also made one for Instagram (also @wordletips), but it hasn’t received the same viral traction — it currently only has 352 followers. 

“I think Instagram is more about sharing an aesthetic,” he said, whereas TikTok is more “ideas-led” and “more of a public forum” where it’s about discovering new things and connecting with new people. 

Haller has a similar take. “I think my videos, and that of many Wordle creators, are very relatable to the average player,” he said. “You watch us go through the same struggles of not seeing an obvious word. Or the joy of getting it right on the last guess.”

Those are the vicarious moments that Wordle fans live (and play) for.