Wordle is the viral game we didn’t realize we needed, so it’s understandable that its new owner, The New York Times, is concerned that it will be ruined in some way.
However, as technologist Aaron Rieke masterfully demonstrates in a Twitter conversation, it is unlikely because Wordle is a webpage, and webpages can be stored. (Client-side coding is used on this page, which greatly aids performance.) You can get a complete copy of the game right now that includes all of the answers, cycles to a new problem every day, and still has the same “Share” button for sharing those all-important little squares with other players.
Right-click > save as created a complete copy of Wordle on my desktop, exactly like any other webpage I might save for offline use on my Windows desktop. I double-clicked the icon to open it in my browser, and the word of the day appeared. It doesn’t save my prior progress, much as the online version doesn’t save your streak when you switch from a desktop browser to a phone version of Wordle -but you could theoretically start a new one if you like, and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone figures out a method to import progress as well.
Where are you going to play Wordle next? It appears that there will soon be a plethora of options available, in addition to the one that The New York Times claims will be “initially” free. Because every web browser — Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Apple Safari for Mac — comes with instructions on how to download webpages for offline usage. While I haven’t tried loading the next word for two days in a row, it appears that the Reading List included in the iOS versions of Chrome, Safari, and Firefox saves a working offline copy of Wordle as well.
Saving webpages for offline use is a time-honored feature of all these browsers, and places like the Internet Archive do it consistently and continuously for much of the public web. There’s an intriguing question here about whether this might be copyright infringement, so I’m not going to necessarily recommend you do any of the above — but saving webpages for offline use is a time-honored feature of all these browsers, and places like the Internet Archive do it consistently and continuously for much of As a result, I expect The New York Times will make it easier for everyone and keep Wordle free indefinitely.
