Type "Waffle" into Google and you will no longer find a delicious breakfast square covered in syrup and powdered sugar as the number one search result. Instead (at least in the US and UK), you will find Waffle, one of many daily word puzzle games inspired by the sudden success of Wordle.

Waffle has been around since the 14th century, and Waffle just appeared in February 2022.

Indeed, if you wanted to eat a waffle, you would go for a waffle, not Google it first. But Waffle (the game) is still quite popular; according to Waffle creator James Robinson, the game now has roughly 450,000 players daily, and its success has not gone unnoticed.

According to gamesindustry.biz, Robinson has received many offers from parties interested in acquiring Waffle, just as Wordle was acquired by the New York Times shortly after it became a hit. the creator of Wordle. Unlike Josh Wardle, Robinson has not sold his creation.

"One [of the offers] was a life-changing amount of money," Robinson says. 'I could have gone for it and finished it there. But I always wanted to make more games, and if I sold it, I would have no platform to make more games. It's a decision I still think about every day. But... We have remained independent."

After playing a few games of Waffle, it's easy to see why the game has become such a popular daily word puzzle. Instead of an empty wordle grid, Waffle is already filled, but most of the letters are in the wrong places. And instead of one word, you solve for six intersecting words (the grid has four gaps, so named because it looks like a waffle). Drag and drop to swap letters and try to solve all six words before you run out of moves.

It's fun, tricky, easy to understand, and unlike Wordle, you can complete the puzzle even if you run out of moves. However, it does not get any stars.

The popularity of the game was sparked when Robinson posted the game on Reddit and it slowly spread across the Internet; Waffle appeared on PC Gamer's list of best games like Wordle, and according to Robinson, "the numbers jumped to the highest ". Eventually, the game was featured on sites like CNET and Lifehacker, and eventually Robinson was approached by Amazon to create a Prime members-only version, which became Waffle Royale.

Robinson says he's not sure how he got the top spot on Google for the word waffle over the actual, literal waffle. My cousin asked me for SEO advice, but I have no answer. I didn't do anything."

"It proves that the Internet works. 'As an amateur, I can put something on the Internet.'

Robinson is currently working on a stand-alone app for Waffle; unlike Wordle, it doesn't have to be played once a day to finish; Waffle's entire archive is available for puzzles;