Introducing Bardle – A Shakespeare Letter Game

“Wordles, wordles, wordles.”

Hamlet

People have already seen my new creation on Twitter and Facebook, so I apologize to them for the old news. For those who still get their Shakespeare Geek news straight from the blog, I’m happy to announce Bardle!

Yes, Bardle is exactly what you think it is. Everybody else was creating Wordle clones (including Taylor Swift and Harry Potter), so I knew I had to make one. This is an obvious homage to the original Wordle, so all credit to the original creator. We also all know that the New York Times bought the original recently, so there’s a non-zero chance that they go on the hunt and some point and try to take down all these spinoff versions. But until then, the play’s the thing!

Important ways Bardle is different from Wordle

1. All five letter character names are possible answers. This will pose a challenge sometimes for plays you may not have read.
2. Some standard theatrical terms associated with Shakespeare are valid as well. So at some point, you’re likely to see words like stage or scene, to give some obvious examples.
3. Mostly, though, answers will be words that should have some obvious Shakespeare connection. It’s hard to explain until you get the hang of it. One tip is to think of the common scenes and quotes you know from Shakespeare and ask yourself if there are any five-letter words there. Hamlet’s that one about the guy who talks to the skull … oh, wait, skull! All the world’s a stage … world! Stage! Get it? A midsummer what’s what?
4. Lastly, the list of guessable words is made up *only* of words Shakespeare used. This throws some people, who expect to use all their standard starter words. Nope. If the word doesn’t appear in Shakespeare’s works, chances are you can’t use it.

If you have any questions or feedback, please let me know! I want it to be fun and not too difficult, but I also very much want to keep the Shakespeare theme prominent.