Josh Wardle, who you probably know as the guy who invented Wordle, released a new game earlier this month: Parseword. I’ve been playing it every day for about a week, and I’m really into it, even though I know it’s unlikely to reach the same level of popularity Wordle did. It’s essentially an easier version of a cryptic crossword clue, formatted in such a way that makes the style of game easier to learn.
Cryptic clues hide their hints and solutions in unassuming words. For example, one of the game’s tutorial puzzles is a six-letter word for “Artist retracted reward.” If you’ve done a lot of these puzzles, you’ll know the answer is “drawer.” The first word, “artist,” is the solution’s definition. The word “retracted” tells the clue-solver to retract (or reverse) the letters in the following word, and “reward” spelled backwards is “drawer,” or a synonym for artist.
If you’re thinking “that’s stupid and confusing,” you’re correct! It’s intentionally obtuse, but Parseword adds some clever quality-of-life tools to make the process easier. The definition is clearly marked, so you’ll know what word you’re looking for from the start. It also allows you to click or tap on a word to see all its potential functions – in this instance, highlighting “retracted” tells you that it can reverse a word, and dragging it over to “reward” automatically reverses it. The game also includes tutorials, difficulty modes, and hints, making it relatively accessible and easy to grasp. The amount of explanation required to recommend it disqualifies it from Wordle-level popularity, but it’s a well-designed game that wordplay fans should check out.
