The world was Wordle-obsessed this year, Google's Year in Search report showed. The report, published Wednesday revealed that the five-letter wordplay guessing game was the top-trending search term globally.&nbsp;

Every year, Google lists the top search term that had the highest spike compared to the previous year. Wordle took the top spot in search terms in the United States, with midterm election results trailing second.&nbsp;

What is Wordle?

The online five-letter guessing game became part of the routines of people of all age groups in 2022. Players get six tries to guess a five-letter word with only the previous guess giving clues.&nbsp;

Released by US software engineer Josh Wardle in 2021, Wordle's popularity reached its zenith in April-May 2022.

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/lifestyle/news-viral-what-in-the-wordle-five-letter-puzzle-is-the-new-internet-obsession-444275">Viral: What in the Wordle? Five-letter puzzle is the new internet obsession</a>

The Wordlers, as Wordle players&nbsp;lovingly called themselves and fellow players alike, flaunted their Wordle guesses on social media in 2022 especially during the period of the pandemic, with fewer tries taken to guess the word implying a heightened wordsmith-ness.&nbsp;

WATCH |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/popular-online-game-wordle-bought-by-new-york-times-449821">Popular online game Wordle bought by New York Times</a>

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Since its rise in popularity early in 2022, the game was purchased by the New York Times. The newspaper then partnered with Hasbro Inc., the makers of Scrabble and Monopoly to create a Wordle board game.&nbsp;

Other most-searched terms

Major events also made an impact on online searches. Johnny Depp topped the search-interest charts among actors, following his defamation case against Amber Heard in mid-2022. Depp was followed by Will Smith, who made headlines after slapping comedian Chris Rock live onstage in front of millions tuned into the Academy Awards.

Ukraine was the third most widely searched term.

The death of Queen Elizabeth II in September made the top five for overall global search interest.&nbsp;

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The world was Wordle-obsessed this year, Google's Year in Search report showed. The report, published Wednesday revealed that the five-letter wordplay guessing game was the top-trending search term globally.

The world was Wordle-obsessed this year, Google's Year in Search report showed. The report, published Wednesday revealed that the five-letter wordplay guessing game was the top-trending search term globally. Every year, Google lists the top search term that had the highest spike compared to the previous year. Wordle took the top spot in search terms in the United States, with midterm election results trailing second. What is Wordle? The online five-letter guessing game became part of the routines of people of all age groups in 2022. Players get six tries to guess a five-letter word with only the previous guess giving clues. Released by US software engineer Josh Wardle in 2021, Wordle's popularity reached its zenith in April-May 2022. ALSO READ | Viral: What in the Wordle? Five-letter puzzle is the new internet obsession The Wordlers, as Wordle players lovingly called themselves and fellow players alike, flaunted their Wordle guesses on social media in 2022 especially during the period of the pandemic, with fewer tries taken to guess the word implying a heightened wordsmith-ness. WATCH | Popular online game Wordle bought by New York Times × Since its rise in popularity early in 2022, the game was purchased by the New York Times. The newspaper then partnered with Hasbro Inc., the makers of Scrabble and Monopoly to create a Wordle board game. Other most-searched terms Major events also made an impact on online searches. Johnny Depp topped the search-interest charts among actors, following his defamation case against Amber Heard in mid-2022. Depp was followed by Will Smith, who made headlines after slapping comedian Chris Rock live onstage in front of millions tuned into the Academy Awards. Ukraine was the third most widely searched term. The death of Queen Elizabeth II in September made the top five for overall global search interest. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Wordle crowned as most Googled word of 2022 globally

Microblogging platform Twitter has suspended a bot that was spoiling Wordle, the five-letter puzzle craze that has gone global. It was posting offensive messages that included spoilers for the next day’s game.

The website-only word game has seen a recent surge in popularity thanks to celebrities like Jimmy Fallon.

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Note: if you like tweeting your wordIe scores, someone’s made a bot you should block as it auto-responds with tomorrows answer <a href="https://t.co/u62kBaTivn">pic.twitter.com/u62kBaTivn</a>
— dan nguyen (@dancow) <a href="https://twitter.com/dancow/status/1485660308622528513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Also see |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/from-meatless-meat-to-web-30-here-are-the-tech-trends-that-can-dominate-in-2022-441762" hreflang="en">From meatless meat to Web 3.0: Here are the tech trends that can dominate in 2022</a>

The once-a-day online word game, originally created in October by former Reddit software engineer Josh Wardle, can only be played on his website and does not have a mobile app.

However, several developers have created identical app versions to cash in on surging demand for the game, with unsuspecting users driving up downloads of the clone apps.

Part of what makes Wordle special is that it costs nothing to play,&nbsp;and is also, more unusually, ad-free.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/now-people-can-send-and-receive-messages-from-their-face-through-smart-glasses-437367">Also read |&nbsp;Now, people can send and receive messages from their face through smart glasses</a>

Its developer Steven Cravotta, now 24, says he initially "had no idea what was going on" when his app starting logging more than 40,000 daily downloads.

"I didn't know it was a craze," Cravotta told The Wall Street Journal.&nbsp;

Josh Wardle's game has flooded Twitter and Facebook timelines in recent weeks as players posted their scores. It gives a player six chances to guess the day's secret word, which has five letters, and the aim is to figure out the secret word with the fewest guesses.

Wordle is already being adapted into other languages, including French, having swiftly conquered the English-speaking world,&nbsp;although, spoiler alert, the Wednesday word's American spelling triggered howls of online player protests from its creator's fellow Britons.

(With inputs from agencies)

Microblogging platform Twitter has suspended a bot that was spoiling Wordle, the five-letter puzzle craze that has gone global. It was posting offensive messages that included spoilers for the next day’s game.

Microblogging platform Twitter has suspended a bot that was spoiling Wordle, the five-letter puzzle craze that has gone global. It was posting offensive messages that included spoilers for the next day’s game. The website-only word game has seen a recent surge in popularity thanks to celebrities like Jimmy Fallon. Note: if you like tweeting your wordIe scores, someone’s made a bot you should block as it auto-responds with tomorrows answer pic.twitter.com/u62kBaTivn — dan nguyen (@dancow) January 24, 2022 × Also see | From meatless meat to Web 3.0: Here are the tech trends that can dominate in 2022 The once-a-day online word game, originally created in October by former Reddit software engineer Josh Wardle, can only be played on his website and does not have a mobile app. However, several developers have created identical app versions to cash in on surging demand for the game, with unsuspecting users driving up downloads of the clone apps. Part of what makes Wordle special is that it costs nothing to play, and is also, more unusually, ad-free. Also read | Now, people can send and receive messages from their face through smart glasses Its developer Steven Cravotta, now 24, says he initially "had no idea what was going on" when his app starting logging more than 40,000 daily downloads. "I didn't know it was a craze," Cravotta told The Wall Street Journal. Josh Wardle's game has flooded Twitter and Facebook timelines in recent weeks as players posted their scores. It gives a player six chances to guess the day's secret word, which has five letters, and the aim is to figure out the secret word with the fewest guesses. Wordle is already being adapted into other languages, including French, having swiftly conquered the English-speaking world, although, spoiler alert, the Wednesday word's American spelling triggered howls of online player protests from its creator's fellow Britons. (With inputs from agencies)

Twitter suspends bot spoiling five-letter puzzle craze Wordle

Five letters, six attempts, and just one puzzle to solve per day: the "Wordle" formula couldn't be simpler, but in a matter of weeks the online brain teaser has got millions guessing around the world.

"It just grabs you," daily player Susan Drubin told AFP of the code-breaking word challenge -- perhaps best described as a cross between the retro board game "Mastermind" and a daily crossword.

"The great thing about it, is it only takes a few minutes, usually, and it's a very nice, tiny distraction," said the 65-year-old from the Washington suburbs.

The puzzle's rise has been meteoric: according to The New York Times, 90 people played on November 1. Two months later, on January 2, more than 300,000 tackled the challenge. The Guardian put the daily player count last weekend at two million, and rising...

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/no-more-tears-people-in-uk-to-get-tearless-onions-444041" hreflang="en">No more tears: People in UK to get tearless onions</a>

Wordle's rules are disarmingly simple: find the word of the day in six tries or fewer. Each guess must be a valid five letter word: letters in the correct space turn green, while letters that are part of the answer but in the wrong spot turn yellow.

Only one word is offered up per day, and it is the same for everyone. Can't crack today's puzzle? You'll just have to wait until tomorrow for the next one.

Although the game itself is accessed on a website, rather than an app, players can generate a shareable widget, with six lines of colored squares indicating how many tries it took to solve the riddle -- without giving away the day's answer, of course.

After a couple of weeks, Drubin -- like legions of players -- took to sharing her results on social media under the hashtag #Wordle.

And thus, a viral phenomenon was born.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/lifestyle/news-britains-queen-elizabeth-to-celebrate-70-years-on-throne-with-star-studded-concert-443940" hreflang="en">Britain's Queen Elizabeth to celebrate 70 years on throne with star-studded concert</a>

- 'Just fun' -

Part of what makes Wordle special is that it costs nothing to play -- and is also, more unusually, ad-free.&nbsp;

Its designer Josh Wardle, a software engineer based in Brooklyn but originally from Wales, has decided not to monetize the game.

"I think people kind of appreciate that there's this thing online that's just fun," Wardle told The New York Times on Monday. "It's not trying to do anything shady with your data or your eyeballs."&nbsp;

While the game website -- "powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle" -- is free of ads or pop-ups, it did not take long for enterprising copy-cats to try to mimic the game concept, devising app store clones for purchase which have since been taken down.

The lone app left standing is an unrelated game called "Wordle!" with an exclamation mark, created by a teenager five years ago.

Its developer Steven Cravotta, now 24, says he initially "had no idea what was going on" when his app starting logging more than 40,000 daily downloads.

"I didn't know it was a craze," Cravotta told The Wall Street Journal.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/nasa-fully-deploys-james-webb-telescope-in-space-443264" hreflang="en">NASA fully deploys James Webb telescope in space</a>

- Bragging rights -

For Mikael Jakobsson, a research coordinator for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Game Lab, Wordle falls into the "gap-filler" category, a game "that you can pull out when you're waiting for a friend or… for the bus."

He puts its success partly down to how easy it is to share results with friends, either by social media or word-of-mouth.

When you crack the puzzle, "you feel very proud of yourself... You have that share button right there. So then you can brag a little bit about it, which we tend to like doing."

Rachel Kowert, a psychologist specializing in video games, also points to the social comparison theory, which holds that everyone wants to evaluate themselves in relation to others.

The temptation is such that tongue-in-cheek debates have sprung up online about muting friends who tweet out their "humble-brag" scores.

Another key part of the game's allure, says Kowert, is that being "limited to one a day gives you a sense of psychological scarcity."

"You're not overdoing it in any one session, and it keeps you wanting to come back to continue to play day after day," she said.

Wordle is already being adapted into other languages, including French, having swiftly conquered the English-speaking world -- although, spoiler alert, the Wednesday word's American spelling triggered howls of online player protests from its creator's fellow Britons.

Five letters, six attempts, and just one puzzle to solve per day: the "Wordle" formula couldn't be simpler, but in a matter of weeks the online brain teaser has got millions guessing around the world.

Five letters, six attempts, and just one puzzle to solve per day: the "Wordle" formula couldn't be simpler, but in a matter of weeks the online brain teaser has got millions guessing around the world. "It just grabs you," daily player Susan Drubin told AFP of the code-breaking word challenge -- perhaps best described as a cross between the retro board game "Mastermind" and a daily crossword. "The great thing about it, is it only takes a few minutes, usually, and it's a very nice, tiny distraction," said the 65-year-old from the Washington suburbs. The puzzle's rise has been meteoric: according to The New York Times, 90 people played on November 1. Two months later, on January 2, more than 300,000 tackled the challenge. The Guardian put the daily player count last weekend at two million, and rising... Also read: No more tears: People in UK to get tearless onions Wordle's rules are disarmingly simple: find the word of the day in six tries or fewer. Each guess must be a valid five letter word: letters in the correct space turn green, while letters that are part of the answer but in the wrong spot turn yellow. Only one word is offered up per day, and it is the same for everyone. Can't crack today's puzzle? You'll just have to wait until tomorrow for the next one. Although the game itself is accessed on a website, rather than an app, players can generate a shareable widget, with six lines of colored squares indicating how many tries it took to solve the riddle -- without giving away the day's answer, of course. After a couple of weeks, Drubin -- like legions of players -- took to sharing her results on social media under the hashtag #Wordle. And thus, a viral phenomenon was born. Also read: Britain's Queen Elizabeth to celebrate 70 years on throne with star-studded concert - 'Just fun' - Part of what makes Wordle special is that it costs nothing to play -- and is also, more unusually, ad-free. Its designer Josh Wardle, a software engineer based in Brooklyn but originally from Wales, has decided not to monetize the game. "I think people kind of appreciate that there's this thing online that's just fun," Wardle told The New York Times on Monday. "It's not trying to do anything shady with your data or your eyeballs." While the game website -- "powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle" -- is free of ads or pop-ups, it did not take long for enterprising copy-cats to try to mimic the game concept, devising app store clones for purchase which have since been taken down. The lone app left standing is an unrelated game called "Wordle!" with an exclamation mark, created by a teenager five years ago. Its developer Steven Cravotta, now 24, says he initially "had no idea what was going on" when his app starting logging more than 40,000 daily downloads. "I didn't know it was a craze," Cravotta told The Wall Street Journal. Also read: NASA fully deploys James Webb telescope in space - Bragging rights - For Mikael Jakobsson, a research coordinator for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Game Lab, Wordle falls into the "gap-filler" category, a game "that you can pull out when you're waiting for a friend or… for the bus." He puts its success partly down to how easy it is to share results with friends, either by social media or word-of-mouth. When you crack the puzzle, "you feel very proud of yourself... You have that share button right there. So then you can brag a little bit about it, which we tend to like doing." Rachel Kowert, a psychologist specializing in video games, also points to the social comparison theory, which holds that everyone wants to evaluate themselves in relation to others. The temptation is such that tongue-in-cheek debates have sprung up online about muting friends who tweet out their "humble-brag" scores. Another key part of the game's allure, says Kowert, is that being "limited to one a day gives you a sense of psychological scarcity." "You're not overdoing it in any one session, and it keeps you wanting to come back to continue to play day after day," she said. Wordle is already being adapted into other languages, including French, having swiftly conquered the English-speaking world -- although, spoiler alert, the Wednesday word's American spelling triggered howls of online player protests from its creator's fellow Britons.

Viral: What in the Wordle? Five-letter puzzle is the new internet obsession

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Wordle crowned as most Googled word of 2022 globally

Twitter suspends bot spoiling five-letter puzzle craze Wordle

Viral: What in the Wordle? Five-letter puzzle is the new internet obsession