Chances are you have heard of ‘Wordle’ and, if you haven’t been obsessively playing it, I bet you know someone who has!

People worldwide have been jumping out of bed to play the viral, daily word-guessing game ‘Wordle’ since its inception in October 2021, when Josh Wardle, a Welsh software engineer, created the game for his partner. From here, its popularity steadily increased until it got too large for Wardle to manage and, in January 2022, Wordle was sold for a tidy sum to The New York Times. Thankfully, despite the move, it has remained free for everyone to use.

The rapid success of Wordle has led to a variety of spin offs, with many games suited to families and children, though it will, of course, depend on the child’s age, their spelling ability and their knowledge of the subject.

Benefits of Playing Daily Guessing Games

The great thing about daily guessing games, such as Wordle, is they are quick, relatively easy and cannot be overplayed, as there is only one game per day (unless of course you decide to play every daily guessing game there is!)

Daily guessing games involving words may introduce players to a new vocabulary (I had never heard of the word ‘tacit’ before playing Wordle!) or instigate conversation about places near and far. Don’t let the learning stop when the game ends – investigate, look up, research and discover something new from the answers you discover when playing each day.

Players all round the world will be playing the same daily game as you (time zone pending), so if you have family and friends overseas, you can still discuss your results and see who was clever enough to solve the daily puzzle.

Here we have listed some alternative daily guessing games which the whole family can enjoy.  Most of these games would suit primary school-aged children and teenagers, though parental discretion is advised. Why not make it a family event and team youngsters up with other family members, so everyone can be involved.

As with any activity involving the internet, please supervise children closely.

Ten Daily Guessing Games for Kids

1. Spellie

If Wordle is too tricky for you then Spellie is your game. Young spellers are asked to guess the daily word puzzle in less than six (6) tries, with three levels available each day. The ‘easy’ level uses short words using lower primary school vocabulary, ‘medium’ is slightly harder, while the ‘hard’ level is more challenging using words from upper primary school.

Spellie is very similar to Wordle, only players can enter the letters in any order by clicking on the circle where they want to place the letter, making visualising the word easier. To tailor this game to your little one, navigate to settings, where you can change the layout of the keyboard, add a spell checker function, or allow/remove hints.

Play Spellie here. 

2. ESL Wordle

One of the best parts of ESL Wordle is you actual get to choose which category you would like your five-letter word to be from. Players can choose from categories such as animals, countries, prepositions, the body, food, sport, clothes and irregular verbs. Letters in the correct place will be highlighted green, those in the word but in the wrong position will be yellow and if the letter is not in the word at all, it will be black (just like Wordle).

Play ESL Wordle here.

3. Wizarding Wordle

Fans of wizards, Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts will enjoy trying to guess the daily five-letter word in Wizarding Wordle.  If you have read the books or watched the movies, you will be a step ahead of the rest in figuring out the mystery word in six or less guesses. 

Play Wizarding Wordle here.

4. Dordle, Quordle and Octordle

Just like the original Wordle, in these games players are tasked with guessing a five-letter word, only this time there is two (Dordle), four (Quordle) or eight (Octordle) words to guess within each game.  These games are obviously more advanced and probably suited to older children or those with an advanced vocabulary.

Play Dordle, Quordle or Octordle here. 

5. Flagle

If you are a fan of flags then you will blitz this daily guessing game. Players need to guess what country the flag belongs to within six guesses. After each incorrect guess, a piece of the flag is revealed and the direction and distance to the correct location is supplied. This game is more suited toward older children or those who have a great knowledge of flags (or at least a flag poster or book to refer to).

Play Flagle here. 

6. Worldle

You will need to have a good grip on geography to attempt this daily guessing game. Worldle asks players to correctly guess the name of the country in six goes or less. You will only be given the shape of the country to start with, then once you start guessing you will be given three additional hints such as how far their guess is away from the answer, the direction, and the percent proximity of the guess to the answer. An atlas comes in handy if you get stuck!

Play Worldle here. 

7. Foodle

Do you love bacon, fancy donuts or indulge in chocolate, then you will be a pro at Foodle, the daily word game where players must guess the correct type of food. Like Wordle, the colours of the letter tiles will change depending on whether they are in the correct position or not. 

Play Foodle here.

8. Taylordle

Taylor Swift fans – are you ready for it? Taylordle is a daily guessing game with all words relating to Taylor Swift and her songs. Words could be between four and eight letter long, and just like Wordle you only have six tries to guess it correctly. How ‘swift’ will you be in figuring out the right word?

Play Taylordle here. 

9. Star Wordle

This one is for all those die-hard Star Wars fans.  Players must guess the correct word in six goes or less, with all words relating to the Star Wars franchise and fan culture. When you have successfully (or unsuccessfully) guessed the word, click on it to be taken to Wookieepedia to learn more.

Play Star Wordle here. 

10. Who Are Ya?

Soccer fans will enjoy trying to guess the professional footballer in under eight tries. A blurred image of a footballer (from one the Big Five European leagues) is shown. After each guess the image will become clearer and you will be provided with feedback relating to the players age, nationality, league, club and position. If you really know your players, you can make it more difficult by hiding the picture! There are also other categories to choose from within this game – cricket, basketball, ice hockey. American football and celebrities. 

Play Who Are YA? here. 

Our Tips for Playing Daily Guessing Games

• Set a designated time each day to complete the game
• Form a group, with family and/or friends, to discuss the results and how well or badly you did
• With more and more spin-off games popping up each week, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, just stick to a few
• Don’t spoil it for others – keep your answers to yourself and don’t post your completed puzzle online.

Extension Activities

• Look up the answers in the dictionary or atlas so you have a better understanding of its meaning or location
• Set yourself a challenge to use the daily word appropriately in conversation that day
• Have a discussion with family and friends about the daily challenge and what facts you know about the answer.

Daily Guessing Games for Adults

• Heardle – guess the song based on the intro
• Framed – figure out the mystery movie using the provided ‘frames’
• Globle – correctly guess the mystery country in six tries or less
• Lordle of the Rings – guess the five-letter word from the Lord of the Rings text
• Nerdle – guess the equation in six goes or less
• Mathler – find the hidden calculation that equals the given answer
• Primel – figure out the five-digit prime number
• Hello Wordl – figure out the daily word, which varies in length from 4 – 11 letters