Wordle: what other formats can be successfully ripped off?

[Blanquepage]

Seriously, seven figures for ripping off half of Lingo? Perhaps we're sitting on a lot of opportunities here to turn old game show format elements into apps.
And yes, I am actually posing this as a serious question: what else could work? PDQ / Baffle might be a fun one. Perhaps Bumper Stumpers, too! 

[SuperMatch93]

If it wasn't currently on the air, perhaps Chain Reaction?

[rebelwrest]

If it wasn't currently on the air, perhaps Chain Reaction?

USA Today has a puzzle game called "Up and Down Words".  When you play it online, cover up the clues with your hand, and use the reveal letter function, it's like playing Chain Reaction.

[BrandonFG]

I could see someone making an app based on Catch Phrase animated puzzles. Long before I knew of the show, my teacher often gave us puzzles called Plexers.

If it wasn't currently on the air, perhaps Chain Reaction?

USA Today has a puzzle game called "Up and Down Words".  When you play it online, cover up the clues with your hand, and use the reveal letter function, it's like playing Chain Reaction.

There's also a game called Words Chain, which I downloaded.

[Clay Zambo]

Seriously, seven figures for ripping off half of Lingo?

Except, to be fair, Lingo is "borrowed" from a game called Jotto that was copyrighted in 1955, and we haven't heard about any sort of a deal that was cut with *its* creator.

My data-scientist spouse says that NYT was really paying for the IP addresses of current Wordle players, not the game.

[Blanquepage]

Seriously, seven figures for ripping off half of Lingo?

Except, to be fair, Lingo is "borrowed" from a game called Jotto that was copyrighted in 1955, and we haven't heard about any sort of a deal that was cut with *its* creator.

Aaah, fascinating. Never heard of Jotto, thanks for the insight!

[chris319]

Seriously, seven figures for ripping off half of Lingo?

Except, to be fair, Lingo is "borrowed" from a game called Jotto that was copyrighted in 1955, and we haven't heard about any sort of a deal that was cut with *its* creator.

Did anyone try to do a TV version of Jotto circa 1955? If not, why? Bob Noah was adept at adapting existing games to TV such as Blackjack (Twenty One, Gambit), Concentration (the card game), Shut the Box (High Rollers), etc.

The game known today as Chain Reaction was supposed to be the end game of a G-T pilot made in 1980 called "Puzzlers". One day at NBC I  dropped in on a Chain Reaction rehearsal. I reported to Ira Skutch that the contemplated Puzzlers end game was the crux of Chain Reaction so that idea was dropped.

[SamJ93]

Beat The Odds has already been repackaged by Pacdude Games as Bacon, Letters and Tomatoes, and if it were ported as a mobile app I could see it becoming very popular.

I always thought PYL is kinda boring when it's not played for real money, but with the explosive popularity of fake-money slot machine apps proving me wrong, I'm surprised Fremantle hasn't gotten the ball rolling on an app tie-in. (There are a handful of sketchy-looking ripoffs in the Play Store.)

Basically any game that just needs a list of words or randomly-generated numbers/letters, so developers don't have to pay people to constantly come up with new trivia questions or puzzles.

[Jeremy Nelson]

Seriously, seven figures for ripping off half of Lingo?

My data-scientist spouse says that NYT was really paying for the IP addresses of current Wordle players, not the game.

THIS is it. The format itself isn’t really the part that is being copyrighted- the money is in the name and the 2 million+ player base.

My question to NYT is with all of these other imitators that have popped up, what are they going to do to differentiate the game moving forward? Do you create a fuller game with more word lengths?

[clemon79]

My question to NYT is with all of these other imitators that have popped up, what are they going to do to differentiate the game moving forward?

It's the New York Times. What do they NEED to do? They link it off of their games page, slap an ad banner on it, and set it up to send all of those tasty tasty cookies.

"Low seven figures" was CHEAP.

[Strikerz04]

My question to NYT is with all of these other imitators that have popped up, what are they going to do to differentiate the game moving forward?

It's the New York Times. What do they NEED to do? They link it off of their games page, slap an ad banner on it, and set it up to send all of those tasty tasty cookies.

"Low seven figures" was CHEAP.

...And this is why our acquisition is bad for President Biden </pitchbot>

[Neumms]

The creative part of Wordle is that you can post your result without giving the puzzle away. Without that, it goes nowhere.

One could rip off this game and work it into an app like Wordle (or rip it off for a game show).
http://www.wordsandwich.com

You could do an app of the Pyramid winners' circle, maybe counting clues rather than against the clock. It's unique in that you play cooperatively with a friend rather than against them. TWO people post it on Facebook instead of one.

[bulldog_06]

Word Sandwich is crazy fun too. That should definitely be made into a game show.

The creative part of Wordle is that you can post your result without giving the puzzle away. Without that, it goes nowhere.

One could rip off this game and work it into an app like Wordle (or rip it off for a game show).
http://www.wordsandwich.com

You could do an app of the Pyramid winners' circle, maybe counting clues rather than against the clock. It's unique in that you play cooperatively with a friend rather than against them. TWO people post it on Facebook instead of one.

[inturnaround]

The creative part of Wordle is that you can post your result without giving the puzzle away. Without that, it goes nowhere.

Sure, that's the novel part of it, but Lingo has shown the gameplay aside from the results posting is watchable. The results posting certainly helped it spread, but if it also wasn't fun to play, people wouldn't bother.

[SuperMatch93]

As of this morning 2/23, Wordle has expanded, now offering daily 4-, 5- and 6-letter words.

Has it? I played today, and BLOKE was the only word available.