Well, I did it! 365 straight wins in Wordle!

This was my third try at it. The first time, I dislocated my shoulder, and broke the streak in recovery. The second time, I had just updated my phone and forgotten to log into my account before playing. This time, I was practically devotional in how I did it. Every morning, the first thing I checked on my phone after I got out of bed, and then checked to see I was logged in and the win was recorded.

This achievement has another significance: I can retire this puzzle now.

I like playing puzzles like this in the morning. Where some people start their day with a morning run, or coffee by the window, or devotional prayer, I wake my mind by stretching it with some online puzzles. It not only helps wake me up and get focused, it gives me a small win at the start of the day, and who doesn’t like that?

Eventually, some puzzles become stale, more rote routine and obligation than joy. Murdle is a bit like that - I should enjoy it, but it doesn’t feel like a win when I solve it, more like a chore I wish I could avoid. Wordle has become that. By January of this year, I was more interested in getting the badge than I was figuring out the word. That’s when I knew I had to put it down. Not before getting that badge, though!

Tomorrow will be the first day I start with a different puzzle. I really should post about them: Raddle, Clues by Sam, Puzzmo, Tiled Words, Thinky Games, sometimes Lex’s Games. They’re all small wins that feel like standing up and stretching, feeling the small tensions release and ease into happiness. Maybe a reader would be inspired to try one and add it to their daily routine.

A screenshot of a successful Wordle game, showing 1,285 completed games with a 99% win rate and a 365-day streak badge. A screenshot of a digital badge displaying a 365-day Streak for completing a year of consecutive daily Wordle puzzles without losing.