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Q: In what game is the word love used?
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In tennis, love is a word that represents a score of zero, and has been used as such since the late 1800s. It’s not perfectly clear how this usage of love came to be, but the most accepted theory is that those with zero points were still playing for the «love of the game» despite their losing score.
A word on the history of love as a word for a strong feeling of affection: complicated. So please excuse our shying away from matters of the heart to engage in a different love affair—a courtly one. It will not be dragged out; we are only investigating love meaning «nothing.» We will present a volley of theories about this sense of love, starting of course at «love-all» (which tennis players and spectators know to mean that neither side has an advantage—it is 0 — 0 to begin) and you, readers, can be the judge.
We do this for love of the game.
Scoring in Tennis
Love as a word for a score of zero has been used in the sport of tennis since the late 1800s. Frankly, how love became a word for zero is baffling, but so is the overall scoring system for tennis. The points progress from love to 15, 30, and 40, which are relatively equivalent to 0,1, 2, and 3 in points per game. For example, if the player serving wins the first point of a game, then the score is «15 — love» or «fifteen (to) love» in their favor. Etymologists aren’t exactly sure how love came to mean «zero,» but, as we said, there are theories. (As for the point system, we’re still scratching our heads about the random 40; 15 to 30 begins a pattern that 40 doesn’t follow.)
A False Theory
The first theory (like tennis’ point system) doesn’t add up; however, it is a popular one and it makes for an attractive story. It has been suggested that the «tennis» sense of love is derived from French l’œuf (the vowel in this French word has no English equivalent, but approximations would be something like «LERFF» or «LUFF»); œuf means «egg.» It is said that when the game was imported into France from England, the French used the word l’œuf to mean «zero,» due to the resemblance of an egg to the written figure 0—just as a score of zero is sometimes called a «goose egg» in American English or a «duck/duck’s egg» in British (all of those terms hatched before tennis’ usage of love). English players mispronouncing the French word supposedly influenced the change to love, and the rest is history, so to speak. But this turns out to be folk etymology: the problem is the lack of evidence of l’œuf being used in French to mean «zero.» The French use zéro to mean «zero» or «naught,» and un œuf («an egg») and les œufs («the eggs») for the food. This theory seems cooked.
True(r) Origins
Another, and far more accepted, theory is that this sense of love comes from the expression «to play for love.» The idea is that a person who fails to make any points doesn’t care because they are playing for love of the game, rather than playing to win (which, really, every player is trying to do but when you can’t get it together at least show good sportsmanship and play for love) or playing for monetary stakes. In other words, playing on the court, challenging yourself, is the reason for still playing despite having the score of love. And to players of tennis, the sport can be truly a «labor of love,» an expression which implies an undertaking performed out of love for the work itself without consideration of benefit or reward. A similar idea is found in the origin of the word amateur, which can refer to a person who does something strictly for love; the word comes from the Latin word amare, meaning «to love.»
Win or lose, written records of playing a game «for love» date to the 1700s and early use is in card games. In 1742, for example, Edmond Hoyle, an 18th-century writer on British card games, recommends (for the game of whist): «If your Adversary is 6 or 7 Love, and you are to lead, your Business in that Case is to risk a Trick or two, in hopes of putting your Game upon an Equality.…»
We’re calling that such earlier use breaks the «egg» theory but doesn’t give points to the «for love» theory either; it only gives an idea of when love was first used in writing to mean «nothing» in sports and games. The physical act of playing out something to its end, for love or another emotion, has been experienced long before the invention of cards and rackets. It’s only human to do so, and it seems that human nature might have compelled people to express their zero as love. Love, after all, even when it means «nothing,» makes everyone feel better. But when did that first love get put in the «nothing» box?
100
What word in a dictionary is always spelled incorrectly?
Incorrectly.
100
What is New Jersey’s state nickname?
The Garden State.
100
In what game is the word ‘love’ used?
Tennis
100
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Bamboo
100
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Mrs. Wagner
200
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A glove.
200
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Florida
200
What type of race is the Tour de France?
Cycling (bikes)
200
A flamboyance is a group of what kind of animal?
Flamingo
200
Which 4th grade teacher played field hockey and ran track in high school?
Mrs. Beals
300
What gets wet when drying?
A towel.
300
This is the southern most state in the U.S.A.
Hawaii
300
In which sport do you run and jump as far as possible onto a sandpit?
Long Jump
300
What is the only bird known to fly backwards?
Hummingbird
300
What is Mrs. O’Donnell’s dog’s name?
Winnie
400
Mr. Smith has 4 daughters. Each daughter has a brother. How many children does Mr. Smith have?
5
400
This is the state known as the Lone Star State.
Texas
400
Which sport uses the lightest ball?
Ping Pong (Table Tennis)
400
Cynophobia is the fear of what kind of animal?
Dog
400
What is Mrs. Wagner’s favorite kind of food:
a) Italian
b) Pizza
c) Mexican
d) Barbecue
c) Mexican
500
When you have me you feel like sharing. But, if you do share me, you don’t have me what am I?
A secret.
500
This state’s nickname is «The Land of Enchantment.»
New Mexico
500
Where will the 2020 Summer Olympics be held?
Tokyo, Japan
500
What is the national animal of Scotland?
The Unicorn.
500
How many years has Mrs. O’D coached the Seahawks swim team?
a) 4
b) 6
c) 8
d) 10
d) 10
Click to zoom
I have never understood this form of scoring. What is the origin of this score «title».
asked Feb 14, 2012 at 15:16
1
There seems to be some debate on where the term started.
One common explanation is that it was adapted from the French word l’oeuf (pronounced «luff»), which means egg or zero. In American sports, we often use a similar term of goose egg to refer to a score of zero.
The Oxford Dictionary also believes that the term «Love» could have been adapted from the phrase «to play for love [of the game]». Meaning that, if you have no score then you must be playing for the love of the game because you are obviously not very good.
answered Feb 14, 2012 at 15:46
Marcus SwopeMarcus Swope
4,6452 gold badges35 silver badges49 bronze badges
1
There are many theories on origin of «love» in tennis few of them are as follows,
-
Less popular theory uses the Dutch or Flemish word “lof,” meaning “honor.” The idea is that the player with zero points is simply playing for honor—because he or she certainly isn’t playing for a win. Source
-
Another possibility comes from the Dutch expression iets voor lof doen, which means to do something for praise, implying no monetary stakes.
(Cited source: Bondt, Cees de (1993) Heeft yemant lust met bal, of met reket te spelen…? Hilversum: Uitgeverij Verloren p. 10)
Source -
The origins of the use of «love» comes from the acceptance that, at the start of any match, when scores are at zero, players still have «love for each other».
(Cited source: Collynshum, Cirt Frijk (1971) Brikt noordjest tennis ul areven Kreb.: Steken of en lad Verk p. 132) 1st, 2nd -
The Oxford English Dictionary suggests that the term might be rooted in the colloquial phrase “for love,” meaning “without stakes being wagered.” This theory reflects the sport’s long history of etiquette and sportsmanship. Source
answered Nov 13, 2017 at 13:50
Ram Chandra GiriRam Chandra Giri
6,4443 gold badges20 silver badges63 bronze badges
Play different games like Wordle. Here is the most extensive list of Wordle spinoffs, which currently includes 402 games.
Select category
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Globle
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Smixed
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Mathler
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Countryle
Guess the hidden country every day. Use the clues to guess it with the fewest attempts possible.
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CoWordle
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Growdle
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Haskle
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Heardle
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Minecraftle
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video-game
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Poeltl
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Primel
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Quintessential
A daily 5 word jumble game. Try to make all 5 words in as few as 8 moves!
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Sedecordle
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Subwaydle
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SWordle
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Weaver Unlimited
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Weddle
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Wherdle
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Word Search
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Avoidle
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Boludle
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Bookli
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Bytle
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Cardle
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Chesstacle
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Cinemadle
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Citydle
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Cladder
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Cloudle
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Colour Match
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color
Colourdle
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visual
Commander Codex
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video-game
Compositle
Guess the 5-digit composite number in 6 tries. A new puzzle is available each day.
math
Creek Birdle
A daily bird word puzzle
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Crissword
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clue
Crosswordle
Recreate a valid wordle grid given the final row and color coded tiles for the guesses
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Cuedle
A thrilling new aural adventure where music aficionados can soar through a time tunnel of hits from every decade!
music
Daydle
A fun game where you guess the year this event happened on this day in history.
history
Dragle
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Drow
Guess the word, and you are given an audio clip as a hint, which is the word pronounced backwards.
audio
Dueldle
Compete against a friend to see who is the master of wordle!
online
Dumble
A dumb version of Wordle.
easy
Dungleon
Guess the dungeon’s composition in 6 guesses.
video-game
ELDROW
ELDROW is a word game with two words per puzzle. One word is a clue and the other is your answer.
twist
Elementle
The Periodic Table Wordle! Guess an element by its atomic number & category.
science
Estadi
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portuguese
Facedle
A mystery person guessing game. Guess the famous person hiding in the picture in as few attempts as possible.
celebrity
Farsi Wordle
واژه مورد نظر در۶ فرصت بیابید. رنگ مربع ها بعد از هر حدس تغییر می کند تا نشان دهد چقدر به حدس زدن واژه نزدیک هستید.
persian
FFXIVrdle
Guess 5 letter locations, skills, jobs, npc names and more in this FFXIV themed word game, based on wordle
video-game
Fibble
Every clue lies to you about the color of a tile in a random position.
twist
Flagle Game
Guess the hidden country flag in a daily game of Flagle.
geography
Foodle
Guess the Food Word in six tries.
word
Foodle
Guess the Food Word in six tries.
Each guess must be a valid five-letter food-related word.
food
Footbl
Guess the footballer in 6 tries in this football wordle game. A new player is available each day.
sport
Footle
A football-themed daily word puzzle from The Fantasy Footballers Podcast.
sport
Four Letter Flow
Complete the flow from the starting word to the target word by changing one letter at a time. Every word must be valid!
word
Futboldle
Your daily footballer guessing game.
sport
Fyvaa
Guess the word in 5 tries. After each guess, the color will change to show how close your guess was to the word.
word
Gamed WTF
Guess the Video Game in 6 tries
video-game
Gjett
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norwegian
Gomezle
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music
Gram Jam
swap letters to make words along rows and columns.
puzzle
Griddle
Find 5 words on a 4×4 grid. Words are scored by length and rare letters.
twist
Guess The Game
Try to name the game shown in the screenshots in 6 guesses or less!
video-game
Hadejslova
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czech
Hang-man
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twist
hello wordl
You get 6 tries to guess a target word.
After each guess, you get feedback.
word
Hexle
Hexle is a game that gives you six chances to guess the hex code for a color. Can you do it?
math
Hollywoodle
Connect the two actors with movies they’ve starred in or costars they’ve shared in as few moves as possible!
movie
Hulihua
Guess the word in 6 tries. After each guess, the color will change to show how close your guess was to the word.
hawaiian
IBRANDLE
Challenge your skills to guess the brand name in six tries, A new Ibrandle is available each day
business
Integerle
Guess the hidden number in 6 tries. A new puzzle is available each day.
math
It’s a Syn
A daily puzzle where you have to guess three words that are a synonym or antonym of a provided clue.
word
Jazle
A daily JavaScript library puzzle.
programming
Keclap
Nebak kecap rahasia dina 6 kasempetan. Bakal aya kecap anyar tiap poe.
sundanese
Kelma
Wara kull prova, il-kulur tal-madum jinbidel biex jurik kemm il-kelma tiegħek kienet viċin il-kelma li trid taqta’.
maltese
Kelmaly
قم بتخمين الكلمة عبر ٦ محاولات. بعد كل تخمين، سيتغير لون الخانة ليعلمك بمدى اقترابك من الحل الصحيح.
arabic
Kordle
Kordle is Korean version of Wordle with 6 disassembled chararacters.
korean
La Mot
Exactly like Wordle but with French words. Try to find today’s word!
french
Landmark WTF
Guess the Landmark in 6 tries
geography
Lattice
A daily word game where Scrabble meets Solitaire.
board-game
Learnle
Learn every day a new fact by trying to guess it!
educational
Letterflash
A free, open source word puzzle game you can share with friends
custom
Lexli
Μαντέψτε την κρυμμένη λέξη σε 6 προσπάθειες. Μια νέα ΛΕΞΛΗ κάθε μέρα.
greek
Li-Hing Wordle
Try guess da word in 6 tries. Aftah, da color of da tiles stay changing fo show how close you stay.
hawaiian
Lyricle
Guess the song from the lyrics in as few tries as possible.
music
MacWordle
Guess the wird in 6 goes. Efter each go, the colour o the letters will change tae show hou close yer guess wis tae the wird.
scots
Mapsle
Like wordle but you have to guess where you are on a satellite map.
geography
Mathle
You have to find a simple addition or subtraction in less than 5 tries. Each guess must be a valid equation.
math
Mickeyrdle
A spin on the classic Wordle with words and people from across the world of Disney, from the movies to the parks.
movie
Missing11
Guess all Missing 11 football players that started a classic game.
sport
MLB Pickle
You get nine guesses.
A new Mystery Player daily.
sport
Monday Punday
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twist
MORDLE
Mordle — a multiplayer word game experience! Exercise your brain while competing with others for free!
online
Morsle
You have 21 tries to guess the word, which will be played out loud in Morse code.
twist
Movlie
Guess the Movie in 6 tries.
movie
Musicle
Guess the chord in 5 tries, The chords can be in any inversion of any major, minor, 7th or augmented key.
music
MusicVidle
Guess a daily music video with a maximum of 6 stills from it.
music
Myrtle
Do you like Harry Potter and Wordle? Try this alternative where you have to guess the mystery Harry Potter Character.
movie
Navnli
En navne gætteleg inspireret af Wordle.
danish
Nerdle
Nerdle — guess the solution in 6 tries — try classic, mini, speed and pro
math
Nmbr14
You have to make the number at the top and every red square is usable once, even the answers to your own equations.
math
Numberdly
The objective of the game is to reach the target number shown at the top of the screen, using math.
math
Numberle
You have to guess the mathematical equation in 6 tries.
math
Numble
You guess an equation in 6 guesses or less, with a new equation every day!
math
Obscurdle
A Wordle-inspired rule deduction game by Henry Truong.
twist
Octordle
You have 13 guesses to solve all eight words. A new Octordle available each day to solve.
twist
Onedle
Play Onedle and guess only one word letter by letter.
twist
Ordbord
Gjett det skjulte ordet på 6 forsøk. Et ordspill på norsk inspirert av Wordle.
norwegian
Ordle NO
Du får seks forsøk på å gjette dagens ord. For hvert gjett får du informasjon om bokstavene er riktig, feilplassert eller ikke i bruk.
norwegian
Ordlig
Du har sex försök på dig. Kan du lösa dagens ord?
swedish
Ordsnille
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swedish
Pairguess
Pairguess is a free daily memory game, inspired by Wordle, in which you need to find all pairs to win.
memory
Papiamento Wordle
Rij e palabra den 6 biaha. Tin un palabra nobo tur dia.
galician
Parolle IT
Indovina la parola del giorno in sei tentativi!
italian
Passwordle
Can you brute force today’s password?
twist
Path’d
Transform one word into another, one letter at a time. How many paths can you find?
twist
Pathsweeper
Pathsweeper is a free memory daily game in which you need to find the correct path to win.
memory
Peeple
The daily picture guessing game.
visual
Persian Wordle
شش شانس برای حدس کلمه مورد نظر دارید. بعد از هر حدس حروف به شکل زیر تغییر رنگ می دهند.
persian
Phoodle
A daily food centered word puzzle.
word
Phrasle
Solve the phrase puzzle one letter at a time without running out of guesses.
twist
Pinyin Cai Chengyu
如答案中只有一个 N，但猜测过程中输入了两个 N，则第二个会被标记为灰色。
chinese
Playrics
Play with lyrics — guess song names based on their lyrics.
music
Plotwords
Guess the name of the movie using as few plot keywords as possible!
movie
Pokle
A free, daily, poker, puzzle game with Wordle elements.
puzzle
Polyordle
When duordle, quordle, and octordle just aren’t enough.
twist
Popcultured
Six tries to guess which year popular movies, TV shows, books, video games, and songs released.
twist
Quidle
15 quiz questions within 90 seconds. Compare scores, and create leaderboards with others.
quiz
Quofee
The movie quote guessing game everyone is talking about. Each day guess a new movie title from their quotes.
movie
Reaction
Click when the screen changes to black.
visual
Rechko
Rečko — Речко — Дневна игра речи. Погодите задату реч у 6 покушаја. Сваким даном нова реч.
serbian
Redactle
A puzzle game to guess the title of a random Wikipedia article by revealing redacted words.
twist
Rhyme Time
These three words rhyme. Can you figure out what they are?
music
Rjeckas
Svaki dan je odabrana jedna riječ dana koja se sastoji od 5 slova i cilj je u 6 ili manje pokušaja pronaći tu riječ.
bosnian
Rordle RO
După fiecare încercare culoarea literelor se schimbă și primiți unele indicii.
Puteți ghici un cuvânt pe zi.
romanian
Saltong
Filipino version of wordle, with 5 letter, 4 letter and a 7 letter modes.
filipino
Sanuli
Arvaa kätketty sanuli kuudella yrityksellä. Jokaisen yrityksen jälkeen arvatut kirjaimet vaihtavat väriään.
finnish
Scholardle
An academic word puzzle.
educational
Searchdle
Search + Wordle = searchdle. Play Wordle but with SEO related terms!
twist
Semantle
Each guess must be a word. Semantle will tell you how semantically similar it thinks your word is to the secret word.
word
Semdle
Semdle — semantic-based word game. Guess words with higher semantic score (in meaning) to find hidden word.
semantics
Shabdarasa
Shabdarasa is an Odia language word puzzle game, an improved version of the Wordle game.
nepali
Slangle
Slang + Wordle = slangle. Play Wordle but with Text Slang
slang
Slivce
Відгадайте приховане слово за 6 спроб. Щодня доступне нове СЛІВЦЕ.
ukrainian
Songdle
Guess the famous song from six of its lines revealed one at a time.
music
Spellie
Spellie is a daily word puzzle game for young spellers. Three daily puzzles of increasing difficulty.
word
Squirdle
I’m thinking of a Pokémon. Guess which! You have 8 guesses.
video-game
Srpski Wordle
Откриј скривену реч у 6 покушаја. Нова реч сваког дана.
serbian
Stackle
Stack words by rearranging and changing one letter. Build the tallest stack and share with friends.
twist
Star Wordle
Starwars Wordle. Guess the [Star] WORDLE in six tries.
movie
Stockle
Like Wordle, but with Stocks.
investing
Sweardle
Sweardle, the sweary word guessing game. Each day you have one four letter swear word to guess.
slang
Szarada
Zgadnij słowo w 6 ruchach. Codziennie nowa łamigłówka.
polish
Teolog.ooo
Descubra a palavra certa em 6 tentativas. Depois de cada tentativa, as cores mostram o quão perto você está da solução.
portuguese
Termo PT
Descobre a palavra escondida em 6 tentativas. Um novo termo por dia baseado no dicionário de portugues de Portugal.
portuguese
Termooo
Descubra a palavra certa em 6 tentativas. Depois de cada tentativa, as peças mostram o quão perto você está da solução.
portuguese
The Hexle
A color based wordle variant. You have 6 guesses to guess the color of the day! Color changes every day.
twist
The Wikipedia Game
A game where you compete with friends and family to get from one Wikipedia page to another in the least number of steps.
twist
Three Magic Words
In each round of you are challenged to complete three specific five-letter words with the available tiles.
twist
Trekle
Startrek Wordle. A Trek-like variant of the popular 5 letter word guessing game.
movie
Triplet
A pattern recognition game
twist
Turdle
Guess the correct sequence of animated frames to make a turtle jump!
twist
TUSMO
Il faut trouver le mot en 6 essais maximum. Les lettres en rouge sont bonnes, en jaune mal placées.
french
Tweedle
You need to guess the word from your favorite Twitter profiles.
twist
Twofer Goofer
Twofer Goofers are pairs of rhyming words that form a nonsensical phrase. Enjoy the AI-generated art for each answer!
clue
Unlockle
Guess the pattern in 6 tries. A new puzzle is available each day.
logic
Vaajoor
واجور با ایدهگرفتن از بازی Wordle ساخته شده. یه بازی حدس کلمه که هر روز یه کلمهٔ ثابت برای حدس زدن داره.
persian
Verbdum
Guess the hidden Latin word in 6 tries. There is a new puzzle each day or you can play in the archive.
latin
Vordli
Вордли — Погоди реч. Погађа се реч од 5 слова Сваког дана се погађа нова реч. Реч треба погодити из што мање покушаја.
serbian
W R O U D
A simple word game that challenges people to find a six-letter word in 3 guesses from a cloud of letters.
twist
Warbl
Warbl is the backwards song guessing game! You have to guess the song being played backwards in 6 guesses.
music
Wardle UK
A Worldle clone in which you guess the UK Local Authority from its boundaries
geography
Warmle
Clues based on how close your guess is alphabetically.
twist
Watse
Speel Wordle in Afrikaans!
afrikaans
WeWordle
Now you can compete with friends and other players in word guessing skill.
online
Wheredle
A Wordle like daily game with a detective spin on Street View. Look for clues in Street View Maps to guess which state you’re in.
geography
Wirdle
Guess da wird athin 6 goes. Efter ivry guess, da colour o da tiles’ll cheinge tae shaa hoo closs yir guess wis tae da wird.
scots
Woardle
كل يوم ، يتم اختيار كلمة مكونة من 5 أحرف عشوائيًا. عليك أن تخمنها في 6 محاولات.
arabic
Woodle
Mastermind / Wordle crossover.
twist
Woordle NL
Raad het WOORDLE in 6 keer. Na elke gok zullen de kleuren van de vakjes aangeven hoe dichtbij je was.
dutch
Wor Wordle Dle
Wordle, but you guess what other people guessed.
twist
Worble
The word guessing game that changes as you guess
twist
Worcle
WORCLE by Red Caffeine — Guess the general work, finance, or marketing word in six tries.
business
Word Bord
Word Bord, a daily word puzzle.
word
Word Hoot
Multiplayer, unlimited plays and guesses, detailed playing history and stats, and a points system for competitive play.
online
Word Huddle
WordHuddle is a word game that combines elements of Hangman, Wheel of Fortune, and crossword clues.
twist
Word Play
It’s for people that love Wordle, but hate limits. Enjoy unlimited games, and challenge others.
word
Word Rodeo
Customize your word puzzle and challenge your friends!
word
Word Rumble
Guess the wrestling word within 5 guessing to complete the wordle. A new word is released every 12 hours.
twist
Word500
Word500 is a word game for power players. Can you solve the daily puzzle?
difficult
WordAll
A Word-Guessing game based on Wordle with a twist; we ALL do the Word together over the course of a week.
online
Wordalla
8 ಪ್ರಯತ್ನದಲ್ಲಿ ಸರಿಯಾದ ಪದ ಗುರುತಿಸಬೇಕು. alar.ink ನಿಘಂಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಇರುವ ಪದಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾತ್ರ ಪರಿಗಣಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.
kannada
Wordawazzle
Guess the hidden Australian word in 6 tries. A new puzzle is available each day.
twist
Wordipede
Changing only one letter at a time, complete a chain of words.
twist
Wordlar UZ
Uzbek version of the Wordle game
uzbek
Wordle AT
Errate das versteckte Wort mit 6 Versuchen. Jeden Tag wartet ein neues Rätsel auf dich.
german
Wordle CL
incluye modismos, ciudades, nombres, marcas y expresiones típicas chilenas. Puedes jugar cada 8 horas.
spanish
Wordle Cup
Play multiplayer Wordle online with friends, strangers or in solo matches. Winner takes all in this viral browser game!
online
Wordle Espanol
Juega Wordle en español. Wordle español sin límites. Juega tanto como quieras, sin límites diarios. Soluciones wordle español.
spanish
Wordle For Friends
Play Wordle with your friends! Come up with the word and send our link for your friends to solve!
custom
Wordle Global
Wordle but in many different languages. Guess the 5 letter word in six tries or less.
language
Wordle KZ
Бұл Сөзділ ойыны. Туиттерде мәшһүр болып кеткен Wordle ойынының қазақша нұсқасы
kazakh
Wordle Peaks
Find the word with clues that tell you if the letters are higher or lower in the alphabet
twist
Wordle Play
No limit on the number of rounds. Guess the words as much as you want and compete with your friends!
word
Wordle SK
Hrajte hru Wordle slovensky! Slovo dňa je hra inšpirovaná anglickým originálom, prispôsobená pre Slovensko.
slovak
Wordle UA
Вгадай слово з шести спроб. Щодня нове завдання
ukrainian
Wordle UZ
6 ta urinishda kun so’zini toping. Har kuni so’z yangilanadi.
uzbek
Wordle VS
Online version of Wordle, challenge your friends or play with random opponents!
online
Wordle Wordle
Guess the secret 5 letter word with 6 or fewer tries. The word to guess is in the dictionary and has no duplicate letters.
word
Wordle.lol
Guess the word in six tries. New word every day! Each try has to be a valid word.
word
Wordle10
Guess the ten-letter word in six tries. Double the Wordle, double the fun.
twist
Wordler
Play word puzzles, create your own educational puzzles and learn languages for free
word
Wordlix
Instead of guessing five letter English words, in Wordlix you must guess five letter POSIX commands or library API names.
programming
Worduel
Play Wordle multiplayer! Challenge your friends to a speed round, or play unlimited classic Wordle!
online
Wordversary
Race against friends to solve word puzzles. The first to 10 points wins.
online
Wordy SE
Wordy bygger på SAOLs ord på 5 bokstäver. Din uppgift är att lista ut vilket slumpmässigt utvalt ord det är som gömmer sig.
swedish
Wortle
Errate das WORTLE in 6 Versuchen. Nach jedem Versuch zeigen dir die Farben der Kacheln an, wie nah du dem gesuchten.
german
Wuertle
No all Versuch ännert sech d’Faarf vun de Felder fir der ze weise wéi no de Versuch um gesichte Wuert ass.
luxembourgish
Wurdl FRL
Dochris in gok WURDL yn 6 kear. Nei elke gok sille de kleuren fan de fakjes oanjaan hoe tichtby oftsto wiest.
frisian
Wyrazik
Wordle po polsku. Polskie wordle. Odgadywanie wyrazu.
polish
Wørdle
Gæt dagens ord i 6 forsøg eller mindre.
danish
Xordle
Two words on a single
board, you don’t know which word your clues are for.
twist
Yeardle
Guess the year based on 3 clues and 8 progressive hints. New Yeardles every day at midnight. Wordle for History.
history
Yeezle
Guess the mystery Ye song!
music
Yordzzle
A word puzzle game where you can challenge friends head-to-head. Like wordle with battle mode.
online
Zborle
Погодете го ЗБОРЛЕ во 6 обиди. Секој обид мора да биде валиден збор од 5 букви.
macedonian
Zpordle
Guess a number and you will be given the p-adic distance to the target.
math
ð.fo
Tú kanst gita í mesta lagi 6 ferðir. Tá ið tú gitir, so broytir teksturin lit, alt eftir hvussu rætt gitið var.
faroese
6by6
6 Letters / 6 Tries. A new puzzle is available each day.
word
AcrossWord
Use anagrams to solve crossword-style clues in this bite-sized daily puzzle game
logic
AnyWordle
A daily word puzzle with different length words each day.
word
Avoidle
While trying to avoid the letters in red at the bottom, enter 4 five-letter words that use as many of the remaining alphabet as you can.
twist
Babelle
Babelle, a country-guessing game with a city as first clue
geography
BEORHTle
An Old English (Anglo-Saxon) Wordle game. It works just like an ordinary wordle game but this one is for Beowulf lovers.
twist
Bibdle
Play daily word puzzles for all your favorite bible verses!
daily
Blankle
Blankle is a daily word puzzle game where you must guess the blank word in the sentence based on context clues.
clue
Blockle
Move the red block all the way to the exit at the right of the board. You need to clear the path and move blocks out of the way.
twist
Bludle
Bludle encodes 5-lettered words into shades of blue. The lighter the shade, the closer to ‘A’ — darker is closer to ‘z’
color
Blurrdle
A high-difficulty Wordle variant with intentionally limited feedback.
difficult
Bordle
Like Wordle, but at least one letter is 🅱️.
twist
Buildly
A word guessing game for the building industry.
engineering
Caici
汉兜 pro 版: 新添多人玩法; 扩充五言和七言古诗词 ;
chinese
Changelist
Solve the puzzle by coming up with a list of words that will get you from the first word to the last, changing just one letter at a time.
twist
Cludl
A daily word puzzle where everyone gets the same clue.
clue
Cluedle
Guess the Cluedle using the clue(s) given.
clue
Codle
Play codle — decode a 5 letter word
math
Codle
A game to guess a target code’s AST like Wordle with AST nodes as letters
programming
Concludle
Each day, you’ll get up to six clues to figure out the day’s answer — see how few clues you can solve today’s puzzle in!
clue
Confusle
A daily word puzzle, with a confusing twist.
clue
Country Guesser
Can you guess today’s country song?
music
Cuberdle
Cuberdle — A Wordle-inspired game where you are trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube in a given move count.
logic
Dayfine
It’s Wordle, but you get the definition and three guesses.
clue
Debuggle
Find a known redacted algorithm word by word. Every day a new algorithm.
programming
Dodle
A daily military themed word puzzle.
twist
Dodle AI
Guess what the dodle AI tried to draw.
twist
Dohdle
Dohdle — A Simpsons inspired Wordle
movie
Dont Wordle
Don’t guess the hidden word in 6 tries. A new puzzle is available each day.
twist
Drugle
You have eight chances to guess the drug name, brand or generic, with hints from the class, indication, and dosage forms.
medical
Duotrigordle
Put your skills to the test and solve thirty-two Wordles at once! You have 37 guesses to solve all 32 words.
twist
Emovi
Guess a movie with emoji!
movie
Explordle
Guess the location where a video was taken by continent, country, city.
geography
Fast Four Word
Create the longest chain of valid four-letter words possible before time runs out.
twist
Filmle
Each day, 6 pieces of trivia are pulled from a film’s IMDB page. Try and guess the movie using context clues from the trivia!
movie
Flagdle
Wordle game with flags.
geography
Gamedle WTF
Guess the videogame by its cover, every day a new game. You can also try the new Unlimited mode to play non-stop.
video-game
Geowords
Each geoword could be a country, city, town or river. You can guess any 5 letter word to work out the Geoword.
geography
Griddler
A game you can play alone or with friends. Solve puzzles and move up the leaderboard! Play unlimited, daily, or head-to-head.
online
Hollywood Stardle
Hollywood Stardle is a free online game, similar to Wordle, for guessing names of celebrities.
celebrity
Hondo
Use logic, strategy, and luck to guess back-to-back code words and race to 100 points!
logic
Interword
Guess a word that falls alphabetically between the top and bottom words.
twist
IYKYK
Guess the CULTURETAG in three tries. A hint is revealed on the 2nd try.
twist
Kanji Wordle
汉兜 — 汉字 Wordle.
chinese
Kanyerdle
Guess KANYE’S FAVORITE THING in 6 tries.
celebrity
Kids Lingo
Online Lingo game in English for Kids. You have to put letters to guess what word it is.
kids
La Mot
Exactly like Wordle but with French words. Try to find today’s word!
french
LADDERLE
Connect between 2 words with the same amount of letters in this daily word ladder game.
twist
Letterblocked
The main task is to create 5 letter words using the given letter in the given space before time runs out.
twist
Lettershot
Lettershot is a free daily word game in which you can find a word by guessing letters.
word
Lewdle
The lewd, crude and especially rude word guessing game.
slang
Lingle
Play our 4,5,and 6 Letter Lingle Games! Similar to Wordle, Lingo, and Jotto!
word
Linkle
Find the word that when put either before or after the 3 clues it forms a new word or phrase (North, Side, Breeze = Sea)
clue
Linkr
Link all of the points together in three daily puzzles
logic
Locatle
A Wordle inspired game where you guess which country a picture was taken in.
geography
Mahjong Handle
Guess the riichi mahjong hand in 6 tries.
board-game
Metrodle
The object of Metrodle is to guess your destination on the London Underground.
twist
Moistle
The grossest word game on the internet!
slang
Moledle
Guess the word in 6 tries but beware, there is a mole in our midst. The information in one column is a lie.
twist
More Wordle
Play the popular WORDLE game for free. Solve the daily WORDLE and share your success with your friends!
word
Nordle
Play the whole ladder from Wordle to the Nonordle and beyond! Start at n=1 and see how high you can climb.
difficult
Numbers Round
Try to get the DAILY target number by combining available numbers and operators. A fun daily math problem to keep you on your game.
math
Oundle
Wordle for British place names (play from 4 to 11 letters in length).
geography
Palabrije
Palabrije is a cross between Wordle and a sliding word puzzle.
logic
Pawrdle
Wordle for pets. Guess the pet related word.
animal
Perfdle
A daily word puzzle for performance engineers.
engineering
Periodle
You have to guess a word spelled from 5 elements of the periodic table from Hydrogen to Oganesson.
science
Phoodle
A daily food centered word puzzle
food
Phrazle
The original phrase-based Wordle game has you guess the letters to complete a phrase.
phrases
PlayNerdle
Play nerdle daily or unlimited — A fun word game for all ages with word origins for an educational twist.
twist
Posterdle
Can you name the movie poster in 20 seconds or less?
movie
Qomedy Quiz
Guess today’s classic comedy film in the fewest possible tries.
movie
Queerdle
A slightly frustrating but ultimately rewarding and meditative daily queer word game.
twist
Quina
The goal of Quina is to guess the five-letter code word. You only get ten guesses, but you’ll get a clue after each one…
word
Quizdle
5 difficult quiz questions. New quizzes at midnight U.K. time.
quiz
Quolture
Guess from which movie or TV series the given quote is!
movie
Qwordle
Quantum version of Wordle. The colored tiles follow special rules loosely inspired by quantum mechanics.
difficult
Qwrtl
Wordle without the letter E.
twist
Real CrossWordle
A new sleek game that combines the joy of doing crossword and simplicity of Wordle.
board-game
Redactle
Try to find the title of a random Wikipedia article by guessing words to reveal them on the page. New puzzle daily!
difficult
Revertle
Turn letters green by using them in valid, 5-letter words. If a letter appears in the same space in the hidden word, it turns red again.
difficult
Rolldle
Guess a weapon roll from Destiny 2.
video-game
Satle
Satle is a geography game where you have 6 tries to guess a city based on satellite images.
geography
Sedecordle
It’s like wordle, but you solve 16 wordles at once! You get 21 guesses to solve all the puzzles.
difficult
Seindle
A daily Seinfeld word puzzle.
celebrity
Seven Wordles
Testing how quickly you can guess seven different words. There is a 3 second penalty for each wrong guess.
difficult
Shlyric
Guess the Billboard 200 song based on the year and lyrics provided
music
Squareword
A daily word game in two dimensions.
twist
Sqword
Create words by placing the letters drawn into a 5×5 grid. Share your score and see how you compare to the leaderboard!
twist
Sqwordle
Guess the Pokémon in six tries. A new Sqwordle is available each day. Inspired by the popular game Wordle.
movie
Sudorkle
Sudoku meets Wordle! Start by guessing each row, then use the clues solve the puzzle!
clue
Summle
Create sums to reach the target in 5 or fewer steps. New challenge daily.
math
Swiftle
Swiftle — Taylor Swift Heardle, guess the Taylor Swift song from a clip in 6 tries
music
Tacticle
Like Wordle for Chess puzzles. You’ve got five guesses to beat a Chess master, can you win?
chess
Tennis Wordle
Guess the tennis word in 6 tries. A new puzzle is available each day.
sport
Termy
Termy is a fun and exciting game that allows you to guess a new word each day.
word
Themedle
Guess the movie from its theme music.
movie
Tridle
Tridle is a Wordle-like, 5-letter word guessing game where you try to solve three puzzles simultaneously in eight guesses
difficult
Turdle
The animal poop guessing game. Make a guess until you’re correct and compete with your friends.
animal
Twords
A mind-bending word game — guess two words at once.
difficult
UnWordle
Solve the Wordle in reverse. Fill in the wordle grid of guesses given the last row. A new UnWordle available each day!
logic
Vocabulo
Adivinhe a palavra de 5 letras em 5 tentativas!
portuguese
Wallows Heardle
Guess the Wallows song from the intro in as little tries as possible.
music
Weaver
Weave your way from one word to another in this daily word ladder game. A new puzzle is available every day.
twist
Whodle
A daily celebrity guessing game. Guess the celebrity hidden behind the tiles in the least number of tries
celebrity
Word Guesser
Guess the word based on clues.
word
Wordder
Create a word ladder from the starting word to the target word in as few steps as possible!
twist
Wordle Unlimited
There is NO LIMIT to how much Wordle you can play with even more letters available to use.
word
Wordosis
Wordosis is a medical word guessing game in which players have a series of attempts to guess a medical word.
medical
Xorkaton
Προσπάθα να έβρεις το χωρκόν της ημέρας σε 6 προσπάθειες!
greek
Yerdle
A Ye-themed daily word puzzle.
celebrity
Zordle
A daily word puzzle, now with ZK proofs.
word
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Teaching English to adults has its own challenges. Of course, lesson plans for ESL adults often take on demanding topics, as mature students are more interested in learning Business English or communication skills for a job interview. However, surprisingly, the challenge for adult ESL often comes not from delving into complex subjects, but from teaching simple concepts.
For both beginner and intermediate students, building vocabulary remains an an essential part of learning English. With younger students, throwing in a few animal pictures is often enough to keep them engaged in the learning process. With adults, however, a vocabulary lesson is much more likely to become dull.
Why not spice up the classroom with ESL vocabulary games to enhance the adult learning experience? Give your students a break with fun ESL games!
1. Sinking Ship
The Situation: The players in this ESL game are on a boat crossing the Atlantic on the way to the Caribbean when suddenly the boat is hit. The ship begins to sink. They all run to the lifeboat, but there are a lot of people on deck. You can see an island in the distance. The ocean is filled with deadly sharks. However, there is only enough space for 6 people in the lifeboat. Who will they take with them in order to survive?
The Sinking Ship is one of the best games to use in ESL lessons for adult conversation. The game works through oral discussion and critical thinking, as the students contemplate the people on the boat. The Sinking Ship game pack contains a list of personas and information on character that the students have to discuss: What are the positives and negatives of each person’s age, personality? What characteristics would they have? (calm, organized, creative etc). How would their profession benefit or harm the life on the lifeboat and the island after?
2. Codenames
The Situation: Two rival spymasters know the secret identities of 25 agents. Their teammates know the agents only by their codenames.
In Codenames, two teams compete to see who can make contact with all of their agents first. Spymasters give one-word clues that can point to multiple words on the board. Their teammates try to guess words of the right color while avoiding those that belong to the opposing team. And everyone wants to avoid the assassin.
To customize, you can make your own set of cards to fit the level of your students. Codenames can be customized as an ESL vocabulary game, if you include new words in the cards.
3. Speaking Board Game
The Speaking Board Game is great to get to know a new group of students and assess their spoken English level. The printable board includes questions like “What does your typical day look like?,” “What did you do on your last holidays?,” and “What will you have done by 2050?” It’s one of the most versatile ESL conversation games! Want to create your own questions? Use this template to make the game your own!
4. Spyfall
The Situation: The players pretend they’re at a certain location, like a beach, cruise ship, hotel, space station, etc. One person in the group gets a different card — a spy card instead of a location. None of the players know who does or does not know the location. Players ask each other questions — «Why are you dressed so strangely?» or «When was the last time we got a payday?» or anything else you can come up with — trying to guess who among them is the spy. The player with the spy card needs to figure out everyone else’s location without letting anyone know that she/he is the spy.
The best questions for Spyfall:
— are subtle and innocent
— do not give away clues to the spy
— allow the target to provide a subtle and innocent answer
— allow the target to answer without giving clues to the spy
— make it hard for the spy to answer without raising suspicion
Spyfall encourages adult students to work on their oral English skills, as well as critical thinking and deductive reasoning.
5. Timeline: Inventions
The premise of Timeline: Inventions is simple: place a card from your hand into the correct position of cards forming the play area in the center of the table. This central play area grows during the game, but it is merely a line of cards ordered according to the year of occurrence of the event depicted on it. You select where you want to play a card with an event in the timeline, then flip it over to see if it’s in the correct position.
For a DIY version, if you know the hobbies or favourite subjects of your adult ESL student/s, you can create a game with a similar concept. For example, if they like history, you create a flashcard with an event (or a picture) on one side, and the name of the event and the date on the flip side. Make a hundred of these on one or more topic, and then have them debate about the correct dates of each event (such as the invention of the toothbrush!).
6. Mafia or Werewolf
The Situation: There is a conflict between the Mafia – the informed minority – and the Innocents – the uninformed majority. The game has two phases; the night, when the Mafia might secretly “murder” an innocent, and the “day” when Innocents vote to eliminate the suspected Mafia member. Each player has a role — policeman, citizen, etc. The game ends when all Mafia members are eliminated or there are more Mafia members than Innocents. Werewolf is a thematic alternative to Mafia — the Innocents become Villagers fighting against Werewolves.
To optimize Mafia as a game for ESL students, the narrator tells a detailed story about what happens at night, and during the day the players accuse one another of being in the Mafia. Heated debate and suspicion make for a great adult ESL activity!
7. Cluedo: Who Fixed it?
The objective of Cluedo: Who Fixed it? is to find out who fixed what and using what tool. Players accomplish the task through a process of elimination that involves asking questions. Students must use specific vocabulary related to common household problems, tools and tradesmen. The ESL usefulness of this game is that is it completely adaptable. You can easily change the vocabulary to focus on another theme or topic such as common holiday problems, problems at work or shopping to name a few. This PDF contains a blank board and blank player cards so that you can simple print them off and fill in with your own vocabulary!
8. Dixit
In Dixit, the board game of imagination and creative guesswork, the players tell a brief story based on a picture card. The players take turns playing the storyteller. As the storyteller, you select a card from your hand, play it facedown, and speak a word, phrase, or sentence represented by the picture. The others play facedown the picture card from their own hand which best represents, to them, what has been described. The cards are shuffled and revealed, and each player votes for the image that they think inspired the storyteller’s brief tale.
Dixit really gets the students using the English language — sometimes even coming up with incredible stories! The ESL students are able to express themselves in complex imaginative ways that reflect their whole thinking process.
9. Taboo or Catch Phrase
In Taboo, one player has a card listing four words:
The first word is secret. The aim of the game is to get the player to figure out the word. The student with the card will need to describe the word as creatively as possible until another student names it. The other three words on the card are the more obvious words that can be used to describe the secret word. They are all “taboo” and cannot be used in the student’s explanation of the secret word.
This game can be played between two teams. It can also be played between partners.
You can create your own sets of words based on the topic your ESL students are studying in class, or you can find sets in your textbook and on the Internet. The game is similar to Catch Phrase, in which a player tries to get his or her teammates to guess words using verbal clues. Both get your students engaged in learning new vocabulary, while having fun!
More ESL Games and Activities
If you liked these fun English games, you’ll love using Your Agora in the classroom. We have compiled resources for even more ESL games, including ESL games for adults online and ESL speaking activities for adults both intermediate and advanced.
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Adult ESL Teaching Resources from Real Teachers
Your Agora combines teaching material from ESL teachers all over the world, scheduling and grading tools, as well as complete customization for both you and your students, all in one platform.