Video Game / Squaredle

Squaredle 294, 12/23

Squaredle is a browser-based word search game developed by Michael Giuffrida that launched on March 5, 2022. It was inspired by wordhuntle (which itself is based on Boggle) and Wordle.

The gameplay is like that of Boggle: given a grid of letters (usually 4 by 4, though size can vary), the player looks for sequences of letters that form words. A letter can only connect to another letter if they are adjacent, and the same tile cannot be used more than once per word. Longer words score more points. Words can be entered either by clicking and dragging a path through the grid or by typing with a keyboard. Each day brings a new puzzle.

Starting on March 11, 2023, a 3 by 3 "Squaredle Express" puzzle started releasing daily along with the regular puzzle.

Not to be confused with Squardle.

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Contains examples of:

• 100% Completion: If you find all the bonus words for a puzzle in addition to the required words, you're rewarded with a congratulatory message, including a picture of the Success Kid.
• Achievement System: There are a number of achievements that can be earned and viewed from the menu, including ones for finishing a certain number of puzzles, ones for completing a puzzle under a certain amount of time, and one for completing a puzzle without any mistakes.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: The earliest puzzles have obscure required words, something that is much rarer in later puzzles. The puzzle archive for 2022 warns: "(Word lists are weirder in older puzzles)"
• Easter Egg:
  • A number of words, when entered, produce a special response, usually in the form of an emoji at the end of the standard message.
    • If you enter "LEET", you get "l33t (bonus!)" in response.
    • "ROFL" and "LOLOL", though not accepted as words, produce a 🤣
    • "LAUGH" produces a 😂
    • "BIRD", "ROBIN", "PIGEON", "CROW", "TERN", and "RAVEN" produce a 🐦
    • "CANINE", "BARK", and "SNOOT" produce a 🐶
    • "MUSIC(AL)", "SING", "SANG", "SONG", "NOTE", and "DUET" produce a 🎵
    • "QUEEN", "KING", and "ROYAL" produce a 👑
    • "KITTEN(S)", "CATS", "MEOW", "PURR", and "NYAN" produce a 😸
    • "LION(S)" produces a 🦁
    • "LOVE", "HEART", and "ROMANCE(D)" produces a ❤️
    • "BEAR", "CUBS", and "TEDDY" produce a 🐻
    • "BLEP" produces a 😛
    • "FIRE", "AFIRE", and "FIERY" produce a 🔥
    • "EARN", "BUYS", and "PRICE(D)" produce a 💲
    • "DEER", "BUCK", and "STAG" produce a 🦌
    • "RIDE(R)" and "CYCLE" produce a 🚲
    • "HORSE" produces a 🐴
    • "BALL", "SPORT(S)", and "ATHLETE" produce a ⚽️
    • "BAKE(R)" and "PIES" produce a 🥧
    • "EGGS" produces a 🥚
    • "ASPS", "SNAKE", and "COBRA" produce a 🐍
    • "HARE" produces a 🐰
    • "FROWN" produces a ☹
    • "WAFFLE(S)" produces a 🧇
    • "GAME", "GAMER", and "GAMING" produces a 🎮
    • "SUSS" produces a 🧐
  • There is a hidden achievement for rotating the board a certain number of times.
• Freemium: The game is free to play, but purchasing a Squaredle Squared membership unlocks perks, including: the ability to play past daily puzzles from the archive, an extra weekly puzzle, no ads, unlocking board perks earlier, extra word reveals, and different themes and fonts.
• Hint System:
  • As your score for a puzzle increases, there are three levels of perks to unlock: numbers that indicate how many words start with a given tile, numbers that indicate how many words include that tile, and hints that let you sort your missing words alphabetically and show some letters in them. The latter is also unlocked at 3 PM PST, 12 hours after the puzzle releases.
  • Each player has one word reveal per puzzle (more if you have Squaredle Squared), and finding the bonus word of the day earns you another.
• Leet Lingo: If you enter "LEET", you get "l33t (bonus!)" in response.
• Moose and Maple Syrup: For Canadian Thanksgiving in 2023, a few days of puzzles had words associated with Canada and its culture and stereotypes, like hockey, maple syrup, poutine, moose, and the words "about" and "hoser".
• Play Every Day: The game encourages you to play every day, as there is a different puzzle every day. It also keeps track of your solve streak — how many days in a row you have completed the daily puzzle.
• Portmantitle: "Square" + "Wordle". The game board is made up of square tiles in a square grid, and it is inspired by Wordle.
• Video Game Perversity Prevention: It's possible to spell out a swear word or slur, but it won't be counted towards the word list for being offensive.

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