A couple of weeks ago, I asked “Why Aren’t You Playing Wordle Yet?” In that article, I broke down why Wordle was such a well put-together game. From the simplistic concept to its addictive nature, it’s a game that ages 8 to 108 can enjoy.
If you are just joining the craze, at some point you are bound to wonder how you would perform in older Wordle puzzles. With over 250 puzzles to trackback to, here are some ways to play old Wordle puzzles!
Trick your system
Now, if you have ever played a game that relied on your system’s clock you may already be guessing where this is going. Veterans of games with a day/night cycle like Pokemon know that you can go straight to the source. Yes, if you alter your system settings you can trick the Wordle site that you are living in a different time. If you switch the clock on your PC, Mac, or mobile device, you can jump back in time to an older puzzle.
Is this the best way? No. Is this sustainable? Also, no. It would be pretty cumbersome to constantly change your system clock in order to play a word guessing game. Also, changing your system clock could have negative consequences for literally anything else your device may be trying to accomplish. So, while this would work, it is not recommended.
Hit the Internet Archives
Another time-traveling method would be to utilize Archive.org. This digital library allows you to visit a virtual snapshot of any website you can think of. Wordle is no exception. In the search bar enter https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html. Remember, use powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle for any puzzles prior to the NY Times switch in late January 2022.
Once you’ve completed the search, it’s simple. Click into the day you’d like and then any of the saved timestamps to access the puzzle of the day!
The best way to play old Wordle puzzles
Even with the power of the Internet Archive, accessing old puzzles can be cumbersome. Further, tracking of your stats becomes pretty impossible. For that reason, we are suggesting that you forego the previous two options. Instead, try an unofficial Wordle archive. These websites are specifically designed to play old Wordle puzzles.
You have three options:
Unofficial Wordle Time Machine by Taq Karim. Similar to Archive.org, in Taq Karim’s website, you are able to immediately select a date and access the Wordle of the day. It will keep track of a separate streak for your historical run. There does not appear to be an ability to see which dates you’ve already done. Make sure you develop a system to tackle them all!
Unofficial Wordle Archive by Devang Thakker. Upon visiting Devang Thakker’s website, you are immediately greeted with today’s puzzle. It differentiates itself from the official website by allowing you to jump backward, forward, or choose a specific puzzle. Don’t worry, your streak will be saved so you can start at the beginning and work your way forward in time!
Unofficial Wordle Archive by Noah Metzger – Of these options, this looks like the cleanest. You are greeted with a landing page that features a progress bar indicating how many puzzles you have successfully completed. As you scroll down you will see a table displaying your success on each of the historical Wordles. This makes it much easier to jump around randomly and accurately keep track of progress. Not even the official Wordle website does this! Going even further, you can create an account so you can play across different devices.
Get Started!
Now that you are equipped with a slew of options to access old Wordle puzzles, what are you waiting for! Pick your poison and jump into the world of Wordle. If you utilize one of the websites specifically dedicated to Wordle archives, you can properly track your progress. Just don’t be too defensive if your friends and family accuse you of cheating when you tell them your successes from early Wordles!
