Wordle #391 answer for Friday, July 15

With every new day, comes a new Wordle puzzle. The game is loved and played by thousands of players worldwide.

The player base was way higher when the game was trending on social media at the beginning of 2022. At the time, the game's website recorded over 2 million daily players.

Many of these players have since stuck with the game, managing to integrate it into their daily lives and solving the challenge every day.

Often, players end up needing assistance in finding a solution. This article provides helpful hints for them.

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The solution for Wordle #391 rhymes with "ledge"

1) The word begins with the letter W

2) The word contains the letter D

3) The word contains a repeating vowel in it

4) The word ends with the letter E

Friday's answer is a fairly common word that rhymes with "ledge." The solution for July 15 is "wedge."

According to Merriam Webster, a wedge is "a piece of a substance (such as wood or iron) that tapers to a thin edge and is used for splitting wood and rocks, raising heavy bodies, or for tightening by being driven into something."

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How did Wordle rise to popularity?

Brooklyn-based software engineer Josh Wardle created Wordle for his wife, Palak Shah. Shah is a quiz lover and thus inspired Wardle to create the game.

The couple worked together to create a prototype for the game in 2013, but it did not get the reception they anticipated. Players did not like the game, complaining about the presence of absurd and archaic words that they did not understand. Additionally, they could play the game as many times as they wanted, which often led to boredom.

Due to unfavorable reviews, the game was abandoned for almost 10 years. It made a comeback in their lives during the COVID-19 lockdown when they spent most of their free time playing crosswords.

They decided to modify the game to remove its problematic features and make it more enjoyable. Shah took the task of eliminating difficult words from the app, while Wardle added a one-game per day limit.

The modified version of the game became popular among the couple's peers. New players started joining Wordle every day, which encouraged Wardle to release the game to the public in October 2021. It was soon bought by The New York Times in January 2022 and became a part of the news portal's gaming section.

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Heardle, the musical spin-off of Wordle, has been acquired by Spotify

Heardle is one of the most popular Wordle spin-offs and was released only a few weeks after the original game went viral on social media.

The musical version of the puzzle was originally powered by SoundCloud, but it was recently bought by Spotify.

The game is currently available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, with Spotify notifying users that the game will soon be available to users all over the world in their native language soon. Jeremy Erlich, Spotify’s Global Head of Music, shared his views on the acquisition by saying:

“We are always looking for innovative and playful ways to enhance music discovery and help artists reach new fans. Heardle has proven to be a really fun way to connect millions of fans with songs they know and love and with new songs… and a way to compete with their friends as to who has the best musical knowledge. Since its debut, the game has quickly built a loyal following, and it aligns with our plans to deepen interactivity across the Spotify ecosystem.”

Following the acquisition, players complained about losing their Heardle score. The company has reassured them that they are working on fixing the problem and bringing in the score records on the platform.