Anyone who loves the Wordle can try out Heardle which is a music-based Wordle that provides something entirely fresh. Mid-December, I joined the trend as a kind of early adopter, but a difficult word on New Year's Day beat me while I was buzzed. After that, I continued, but it soon became apparent that I was mostly playing out of obligation. Wordle allowed for a more communal experience than other puzzle games often allow because there could only be one created every day and we could all work on the same puzzle at once. But it also made it seem more laborious. I consider Wordle as an obligation I had to fulfill in order to move on with my day, similar to brushing my teeth in the morning. So, I could say I was fascinated by Wordle and have never been interested in any of the many spin-offs, until I got to know Heardle.
It wasn't the same kind of frustration as Wordle's frequently unfair rejections. It doesn't seem like there was much more I could have done if I was asked to think of a five-letter word that suits the letter _R_AM and I typed DREAM only to be told, "Sorry mate, it's CREAM". In Heardle, you can either be correct or wrong. I enjoy a game where the solutions are clear-cut since I have narcissistic characteristics that make me enjoy being right about things.
I don't play Wordle often anymore since I frequently went to bed after midnight. It didn't help that what should have been an early-morning pick-me-up had turned into a late-night blue screen brain-bender, but basically I was just sick of it. The word changes absurdly, which introduces me to Wordle. Moreover, the math and geography ones performed admirably, but they looked constrained by their steadfast adherence to the Wordle design, which Heardle is not.
Most of the time, it is good to be back on the Wordle without having to get back on it. It's the first time I've seen a game built on Wordle's foundations without just taking it. I may just have a fleeting dalliance with Heardle, and it may even be briefer than Wordle.
