Yesterday, Josh Wardle, creator of Wordle, revealed a bit about the origins of this word puzzle game in a presentation at Figma's Config conference (via The Verge). This includes the glowing fact that he originally intended to call it "Mr. Bugs' Wordy Nugz." [Wordle, I was going to call it Mr. Bugs' Wordy Nugz. If I had called the game Mr. Bugs Wordy Nugz, who knows if the New York Times would have bought the game, but I think the name would have helped, rather than hindered, the game in terms of fan recognition."

Wardle also mentioned what Wordle was like at the time he was pitching the idea of the Mr. Bugs name. Initially, the prototype was for android, but most of the games we know today already existed, except that instead of only answering one question a day, it was an endless puzzle that could be played for as long as you wanted.

After putting it off for a while, Wardle returned to his own creation when he saw his partner enjoying the New York Times crossword and spelling bee game. He realized, however, that both could only be played once a day, and if he missed it, he would lose his winning streak. This is where Wardle got the inspiration for his daily timed games.

But none of these changes were an attempt to emulate the same success; after all, Wardle was only trying to create a game that he and his partners could enjoy. That is why it came as a bit of a surprise when The New York Times announced that it had acquired Wordle.

"With the success of Wordle, it was clear that I could make a life for myself if I wanted to," Wardle says. 'But there's a lot of things about running a video game business that aren't fun.

"But there's a lot of things about running a gaming business that aren't fun.

"All of this comes down to the fact that I'm making games for my partner," Wardle continues. 'I'm not going to show her ads or try to upsell her a premium subscription. But I didn't want to make money off of Wordle, but I quickly learned that there were other people trying to make money off of Wordle, whether I was involved or not. The sale to the New York Times was a way to get out of it."[11

Wardle's passion for creating was likely one of the main factors that led to his success. And his final advice in his presentation did not stray far from this desire: "Don't try to create Wardle. Create something that is meaningful to you, something you are passionate about. If you do that, everything else will follow."