Following the success of Wordle last year, a number of apps have appeared that mimic Wordle, with a few standouts among them. Nerdle (open in new tab), which guesses mathematical equations; Worldle (open in new tab), which looks like a misspelling but actually guesses countries from silhouettes; and, more intimidating, Quordle (open in new tab).

Quordle forces you to solve four Wordle simultaneously. Every guess you make applies to all four-even with a generous nine guesses, it's still a cerebral multitasking nightmare.

But Merriam-Webster clearly thinks the game has a bright future ahead of it. According to the game's official Twitter account (opens in new tab), the company, known primarily for its US dictionaries, has acquired Quordle. The URL has already been changed to reflect the acquisition, and Merriam-Webster has welcomed the game into its "family" of word games and quizzes (opens in new tab).

If you didn't notice that there is a family of word games and quizzes owned by a dictionary company, neither did we. However, you can enjoy Name That Thing (opens in new tab), Spell It (opens in new tab), What's That From? (opens in new tab), and What Are You Wearing' (opens in new tab) on their site (opens in new tab). I am now beginning to wonder if Quordle has literally enough names for this collection.

Quordle is not the first word game acquired in the genre. Of course, Wordle was acquired by the New York Times (open in new tab) early last year for a "low seven-figure" sum, and Heardle (Wordle with music) was acquired by Spotify (open in new tab) last summer. If you are the CEO of a company and are looking for something like Wordle as a gift for your secretary, you might want to take a look at our best list (opens in new tab). You can probably also get Squareword (opens in new tab) for cheap these days.