Sure, the hype around Wordle might have died down since it was first released in 2021, but that doesn't mean you—and many others—still don't play this addicting brain teaser game to start your morning. In fact, you think you're pretty good at it; you have a stellar streak going on, and you've even guessed a word in two tries before. Could Wordle, and other similar word games, possibly be making you smarter?
Before you go and flaunt your Wordle score to all your friends and family, here's what's really going on behind the scenes, and whether you should—or shouldn't—feel so arrogant about your stats just yet.
Strengthens Your Vocabulary
If you're not much of a reader and you can count on one hand the last time you picked up a book or magazine, then Wordle may actually benefit you in one way: enhancing your vocabulary. After all, solving the daily puzzle requires you to have a pretty good grasp of different five-letter words. If you're unfamiliar, you're forced to consider all types of patterns and spellings based on the clues you have, and those mental processes can strengthen your recognition.
But to really make new words stick to your brain, it's worth searching them up afterwards to gain a better understanding of what they mean. That way, you're not just looking at words like "epoxy," "knoll," and "duchy" with pure confusion.
Encourages Strategic Thinking
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You're not just trying to piece letters and patterns together when you're trying to solve Wordle; you're also thinking of what words yield the best clues. Starting with a vowel-heavy word will help you know right away if the answer of the day includes any (and which ones), and subsequent guesses only help you narrow down. In other words, your brain is constantly running through different scenarios before you finally type out what you think is the right answer.
Some players may also refine their approach based on previous feedback and gameplay, meaning they may use different starting words to maximize their results. Knowing how to adapt on the fly not only boosts your ability to strategize, but also your decision-making and problem-solving skills.
Does Playing Wordle Boost Your Intelligence?
So: does playing Wordle really boost your intelligence? Well, the short answer is no. As one psychology professor puts it, "You're just a person who does well at Wordle versus another person who doesn’t do as well on Wordle." This means that just because you're unbeatable at Wordle, or other similar games like Scrabble, doesn't mean you're automatically an expert at other cognitive tasks. In fact, as it turns out, using strategies to play Wordle can actually hinder how much of your brain is involved when solving the puzzle. For one, you won't be activating certain visual memory and attention processes, which mean these areas may atrophy the longer you don't use them.
But don't let that discourage you. The long answer is that while playing Wordle might not make you a genius overnight, solving puzzles in general can still be beneficial for the brain. The key is to continually challenge yourself and your problem-solving abilities, and to rotate around different types of games and activities, so more areas of your brain are involved and activated. After all, the more you train your brain, the easier things will stick.
For now, we say you should still be proud of your Wordle score.
