Wordle, the hit online word puzzle set to become a multiplayer board game

The web-based word game, Wordle can now be available as a board game. Hasbro, the American multinational conglomerate with toy, board game, as well as media assets, is collaborating with the New York Times, which owns the well-known online word puzzle, to develop "Wordle: The Party Game”. The new board game would offer "classic Wordle gameplay, but now in an all-new way," the companies announced in a press release.   

Adam Biehl, the senior vice president and general manager of Hasbro Gaming, stated that Hasbro contacted the New York Times to create a party game after observing how successful Wordle had become online, CNN reported.  

Further, "Wordle: The Party Game" took the company less than a year to develop, according to Biehl, making it one of Hasbro's quickest launches. To utilise Wordle, Hasbro (HAS) is paying a license fee to the Times. 

In an exclusive interview with CNN Business, Biehl remarked, "What sparked our interest was ... how much fun people were having posting the results on social media". He then added, “That's when we knew that there was something special about it." 

Prior to the game's release on October 1, preorders started on Thursday. The suggested retail price is $19.99, and it will be available at Walmart, Target, Amazon, and Hasbro's website. Before settling on the version that is being launched, Hasbro's gaming team developed several versions of the game. 

In addition to this, Biehl noted, “We start with what we are trying to achieve". He further clarified that as part of being as genuine to the Wordle experience as possible because they want to capture what got customers really engaged in the game. Moreover, according to Biehl, the team wanted to match "the quality of what the Times is known for," CNN reported.  

How to play "Wordle the party game"?

With the help of some color-coded cues, such as ‘yellow’ if the letter is correct but in the wrong place ‘green’ if the letter is in the correct spot, "Wordle: The Party Game" preserves the trademark of Wordle's game play, which provides players six opportunities to identify a five-letter word.  

Notably, there are four playable game modes in the board game edition, quick, timed, teams, and classic. Identical to the online version, scoring provides participants to correctly identify the word in the fewest number of guesses.  A player scores fewer points the fewer attempts they require, and at the completion of the game, the person with the fewest points wins, CNN reported.  

Dry-erase boards, markers, safety walls to prevent cheating, and green and yellow clue tiles are all included in the board game. An approved word list that should be used is also provided, produced by the Times. 

Despite being a family game, Hasbro anticipates that its audience "leans toward a slightly older audience," similar to its other word games like Scrabble and Boggle, according to Biehl. 

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