Absurdle is a Wordle variant that hates you - while Sweardle curses you Rock Paper Shotgun Support us Join our newsletter Visit our store Sign in / Create account If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Absurdle is a Wordle variant that hates you - while Sweardle curses you Spins in the popular word game News by Graham Smith Contributor Published on Jan. 12, 2022 21 comments Wordle has engrossed me for a couple of weeks, along with much of the rest of the internet. It's also a free, simple word game, meaning it's relatively easy to recreate. Naturally, other developers are building their own twists on its core. Among them, Absurdle is my favourite, an "adversarial version" of the game where the winning word changes as you guess. I'm also fond of Sweardle, however, a version designed for four-letter words. The concept of Wordle is simple: you've got six attempts to guess the winning five-letter word. Correct letters in a guess are marked yellow, or green if they're also in the correct position. With each guess, the possible winning words decrease, and you hone-in on the correct answer - or not. All of the variants maintain these core elements, while tweaking the rest. For example, in Wordle, the social element of everyone playing the same puzzle - only one a day - is a big part of the appeal. Absurdle doesn't have that, because the winning word on any given puzzle changes with each guess. If Wordle is a game you could play with a friend by asking them to think of a word, Absurdle is a game you could play with an enemy intent on lying to you about whatever word they initially picked. Its developer has written a blog post explaining more of how it works. Why it works for me is that you get infinite guesses, meaning that it's not actually impossible to win. The challenge is instead winning in as few moves as possible. The best I can manage is seven, but its tricksiness makes Absurdle feel like a game that rewards optimisation. Wordle, by comparison, feels like it's rendered less interesting if you just guess the maximally efficient word each time. If you like Absurdle, its developer has form, having also made HATETRIS, a version of Tetris that deliberately gives you pieces which screw you. Sweardle, meanwhile, is much simpler: you get four attempts to guess a four-letter word, with only swear words allowed. This is, I'm ashamed to admit, the first Wordle or Wordle-variant where I've failed to find the winner. Perhaps you're more potty-mouthed than me. Looking for more freebies? Check out our list of the best free PC games to play in 2022. More News Jack King-Spooner's next handcrafted game has a teaser demo out Judero brings chat and action in the Scottish Borders Alice O'Connor 17 hours ago 1 If you were hoping for any Overwatch 2 balance changes then you'll have to wait until season two The next season begins in December CJ Wheeler 18 hours ago 3 The Dead Space remake will chuck random Necromorphs at you as you wander the Ishimura In space, no one can hear you proper bricking it CJ Wheeler 18 hours ago 8 Valve register mysterious new Neon Prime trademark in the US It doesn’t seem to be for a particularly colourful Steam Deck CJ Wheeler 20 hours ago 11 Latest Articles What are we all playing this weekend? Well? Alice O'Connor an hour ago 22 Past Wordle answers Here's an archive of previous Wordle words Ollie Toms 2 hours ago 1 Wordle answer today (Saturday 15 October) Hints and the answer to today's Wordle word Rebecca Jones 9 hours ago Overwatch 2 hero tier list Which are the best heroes in Overwatch 2? Ollie Toms 16 hours ago Supporters Only You're probably better than me at One Many Nobody You go on without… uh, you? Sin Vega 17 hours ago Supporter podcast - The Nate Files episode 13: dry bones Bad science is also FUN science! Alice Bell 18 hours ago Japanese dating show Love Wagon has surprising parallels with Yakuza and Persona My new obsession Ed Thorn 2 days ago If you're hankering after Bayonetta 3, Valkyrie Elysium might be a good substitute It's not out on PC until next month, but the console demo has been a surprise charmer Katharine Castle 1 week ago 4 We've been talking, and we think that you should wear clothes Total coincidence, but we sell some clothes Buy RPS stuff here