What is Canuckle? How to play Canadian Wordle version revealed

Another day, another Wordle spin-off. Canuckle, the latest addition to the bunch, is a special treat for all Canadian Wordle enthusiasts.

The internet has been teeming with countless Worldle variants, including several with specific themes within larger sub-sets like music (Heardle) and films (Moviedle and Framed).

The game was created by Ottowa resident Mark Rogers, who gave the following description of his game:

"Every word at the end will be related to Canada in some way, and it's got some sort of theme that can be tied back to Canada."

At first, it started as a simple means of entertaining his family, but before long, this game began registering millions of unique visitors.

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Guide to playing Canuckle, the Canadian-themed Wordle

Rogers' children were the inspiration behind his idea. He recalled:

"My kids had been doing some of the Wordle puzzles, and there were some tricky words like 'knoll' and 'proxy,' and they didn't know what those were. So I thought it would be fun to have some words that were a little more common but tied to Canada."

Rogers explained how the process of brainstorming the name for the game was a back and forth between him and his brother:

"He proposed the name Moosele. I came back with Beaverdle. Wordle-Eh was another one. And finally, he suggested Canuckle, and it just stuck."

Rules for playing the Canadian-themed Wordle (Image via Canuckle)

Released on February 10, the game follows the same format as Wordle. Players get six chances to guess the word, which will be strictly Canadian-themed. The only difference is that the letters guessed in the correct position are marked in red instead of Wordle's signature green, in tandem with Canadian flag colors.

Letters that appear in the word but in another position are marked yellow, while letters that do not appear in the word remain gray. The game also provides players with fun facts about the secret word once they've successfully guessed it.

Canuckle was well-received by all members of Rogers' family. His aunt Brenda Neale commented:

"I love the game because it's Canadian, is the main thing. I just like the fact that you have to think of Canadian things. And he's had some great words that are Canadian - sorry, loons, syrup, maple."

Overall, user feedback has also been largely positive, although some do get miffed if the secret word isn't "official." Rogers' shared one such incident:

"One of the words we ran in the past, so not a spoiler, was 'aboot.' And we got quite a few emails saying that this is not an official word, it's not in the dictionary. But that's what's great about Canuckle. There are some Canadianisms. It is a little bit different; it is not officially Worldle. But there are some fun words for Canada, and we're trying to think a bit outside the box. So we've had some fun with it."

While other Wordle variants do not seem to have an end date in sight, Canuckle, unfortunately, does:

"We decided we wanted to get all the way to Canada Day. So the last word is going to be on July 1. So, we've got a good number of words in store all the way to July 1."

This game indubitably appeals more to Canadian demographics, but that isn't to say that others wouldn't enjoy it.