Wordle’ssuccess may have something to do with its relatively simple formula. The game chooses a word every day, and players have six chances to figure it out. A few fan-made spinoff games have attempted to shake up the formula by introducing new gimmicks and mechanics. There’s even a version where players mustavoid guessing the correct word. However, none have managed to usurp the original game’s throne.
Still, plenty of fans have produced some interesting takes on the underlying formula.Adversary Wordle, shortened toAdverswordle, is one such example and an unusual one at that. The game reveres the roles by putting the computer in the player’s shoes.
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The idea behindAdversary Wordleis simple. Players choose a five-letter word, which the game tries to guess. If a letter is in the word but in the wrong place, players click it once to mark the letter in yellow. If a letter is in the correct position, players click twice to mark it green. They then hit “Submit to make the AI guess a new word. The player’s goal is to make the word as hard as possible, with their score based on how many guesses the computer needed to get it right. However, “possible” is the key word, as players automatically lose if the AI is stumped. Players get one attempt every day, with the AI having a new starting guess each time.
For example, say the player chooses the word “TRIAL,” and the AI guesses “BIRDS.” The player marks the “I and “R” in yellow then presses “submit.”Adverswordle’sAI might then guess “THEIR,” and the player responds by marking the “T” in green and the “I” and “R” in yellow. The AI follows up with the word “TRIAL,” and the player marks all the letters in green. They’d then come away with 3 points because it took the computer three times to get it right. Note that the AI has infinite guesses, with the creator saying they got a high score of 12.
Adverseworldlegot a mixed response fromfans on theWordlesubreddit. Most of the commenters were interested in the concept, though several people seemed to have trouble understanding how to play. Part of that might have had to do with the in-game instructions, which Adverseworldle’s creator admitted might need an update for clarity.
The game’s creator also warns that itsartificial intelligence might not be all that intelligent. This is all evidenced by one commenter, who noted that the AI was completely stumped with the word “Steak.’ Hopefully, those kinks get ironed out further down the road. Either way,Adverseworldleoffers an interesting inversion of the establishedWordleformula.
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