Wordiply
Build the longest word you can around a short starter word, in five goes.
Wordiply is the Guardian's daily word game. Each day you get a short starter word, usually three letters, and five tries to type the longest word that contains it unbroken. You are scored on how close you get to the longest word and on how many letters you use across all five guesses.
About Wordiply
Wordiply was made by The Guardian and announced in January 2023. The idea came from David Shariatmadari, an editor at the paper who had written about Wordle, after a colleague asked him to try designing a daily game of his own. He tested ideas with friends and game designers, his brother Daniel helped settle the final format, and the Guardian's developers built it.
The rules are short. You see a starter word, such as TIE. Every guess must be a real word that contains those letters together and in that order, anywhere in the word: RESPONSIBILITIES works for TIE. You get five guesses, and each one is checked against the list of allowed words.
Scoring has two parts. Your length score compares your best word with the longest word possible for that starter, so a 12-letter word against a 15-letter best gives 80 percent. Your letter score adds up the letters in all your guesses, so a short second try is a wasted turn. That rewards you for pushing on after a good first guess.
Unlike Wordle there is nothing hidden to deduce; it is about vocabulary and knowing how English builds long words from prefixes and suffixes. It suits people who like Scrabble, spelling games or just finding long words, and a round takes a few minutes.
How to play Wordiply
- Look at the starter word for the day.
- Type a real word that contains the starter word, letters together and in the same order.
- Submit it and see how long it is compared with the longest possible word.
- Use the rest of your five goes to try longer words.
- Read your length score and letter score at the end and share them if you like.
Tips
- Add common endings such as -ATION, -NESS, -IBILITIES or -ALLY to stretch a word.
- Prefixes like UN-, OVER-, COUNTER- and INTER- can add several letters at once.
- Since every letter you type counts, make all five guesses long, even after you think you have found the best word.
- Try placing the starter in different spots: at the start, in the middle and at the end of a word.
- Very obscure medical and chemical terms are often not in the word list, so stick to words you would see in general writing.
Questions
Who makes Wordiply?
The Guardian. It was devised by David Shariatmadari, an editor at the paper, and built by the Guardian's developers.
Is Wordiply free?
Yes. It is free to play in a web browser.
Does the starter word have to stay together?
Yes. Its letters must appear side by side and in the same order somewhere in your word.
How is Wordiply scored?
You get a length score, which compares your longest word with the longest possible one, and a letter score, which counts the letters in all five of your guesses.
Games like Wordiply
Spelling Bee
Another daily game about finding words, with points for longer ones
Squaredle
A daily word hunt that rewards a wide vocabulary
Guardian Quick Crossword
The Guardian's other daily word puzzle
Letter Boxed
A daily puzzle where long words make the best solutions
Wordle
The daily word game that inspired the Guardian to make its own
Blossom
Make 12 words from seven letters, always using the one in the middle.
Bongo
Arrange 25 letter tiles into five words for the highest score.
Bracket City
Solve clues tucked inside other clues until they collapse into one fact about this day in history.