‘Wordle’-Inspired Game ‘Squirdle’ Has You Guessing Pokémon Instead of Words
Die-hard Pokémon fans, it’s time to flex all your knowledge. Amid all the excitement surrounding Josh Wardle’s viral word game, Wordle, developer Sergio “Fireblend” Esquivel has created a clone called Squirdle. Instead of guessing words, players must guess the secret Pokémon of the day. Here’s how it works.
What the heck is ‘Wordle’?
If you’re active on Facebook or Twitter, you’ve likely seen your friends and followers sharing grids of green, yellow, and gray emoji boxes every day. That would be their Wordle scores. The free web browser word game went viral in late December, made famous for its simple yet addicting concept.
Every day, Wordle generates a new five-letter word from a list of thousands. Players have six chances to guess what the secret word is. When they guess a correct letter in the right spot, that box turns green. When they guess the correct letter, but in the wrong spot, the box turns yellow. Any letters guessed that are not in the secret word turn gray.
Wordle’s use of common five-letter words makes the game simple enough for anyone to play, yet still poses a brain challenge. Plus, it only allows one game per day, so it’s easy to pick up and put down without getting too distracted from daily tasks.
Everyone gets the same word, which has created a sense of a bond among players all over the internet. Many people share their scores with friends, swap strategies, and discuss the difficulty of the day’s Wordle.
‘Squirdle’ game puts a Pokémon twist on ‘Wordle’
Wordle’s popularity has inspired countless spinoff games with slight twists. One such concept comes from Fireblend, who created a game with fellow Pokémon-lovers in mind.
Much like Wordle, Squirdle players must guess the correct Pokémon using clues from previous guesses. However, the clues are a bit more complex. Instead of verifying the letters of each guess, the game verifies the guess’s generation, type, height, and weight.
For example, if Squirtle is the right generation but the wrong Pokémon, the generation box will turn green. The height and weight boxes also use up or down arrows to indicate whether the guess is too high or low. Players have eight guesses to get it right.
There are nearly 900 Pokémon in existence, so there’s quite a lengthy list to choose from. Thankfully, players who are familiar with generation one can select Gen 1 Only mode, which narrows it down to just the creatures from Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow.
Additionally, unlike Wordle, Squirdle has an option to play as many games per day as players want. However, there’s still a daily puzzle for those who want the limit.
Other unique ‘Wordle’ clones have also popped up online
If a Pokémon guessing game isn’t your style, there are plenty of other Wordle clones to try. Absurdle, for example, is the same concept as Wordle, except the game tries everything it can to avoid letting players guess the right word. There’s also Sweardle, which gives players four chances to guess a four-letter swear word.
