What is Wordle ‘hard mode’?: How to play and what the setting means

Does ‘hard mode’ make game more difficult?

Amber Raiken
New York
Friday 25 March 2022 18:41 EDT
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(AFP via Getty Images)

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While Wordle has become daily activity for many internet users, it turns out that players can make the beloved game a little more challenging, with the help of the “hard mode” setting.

Played through a web browser, Wordle is a game where players attempt to guess a five-letter word within six attempts. After each guess, the colour of the tiles changes to show how close you were to getting the right answer.

And apparently, Wordle, which was bought by the New York Times in January has a certain setting called “hard mode that could make the game even more riveting.

In order to turn “hard mode” on, you just open the Wordle in your web browser and then click the settings option.

Once the mode is turned on, this means that “any revealed hints must be used in subsequent guesses.”

For example, if you enter a word that does not contain any of the hints you’ve already gotten correct, then a notification will pop up to make you aware of your error. The mode also stops you from submitting the word that is incorrect.

More specifically if you try to complete the word in another guess, and it doesn’t contain one of the correct letters you’ve already submitted, a notification will pop up that says: “not in the word list.” You’ll then have to try again, using the letters you’ve guessed correctly.

Aside from “hard mode,” there are a few different ways to go about the game, such as by playing it more than once again, which you can do with Wordle Archive.

Although the site wasn’t created by Wordle itself, Wordle Archive features all the previous puzzles that have been shared, allowing people to attempt to solve them over and over again.

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