Which states are cheating most on Wordle? Research suggests players looking for shortcuts since game’s acquisition by New York Times 

Social media users love sharing their Wordle scores online, and many take pride in solving the quiz in one or two attempts. Many dedicated players do not want their daily streak in the game to break, and resort to Googling hints online after failing to guess the word in their first few attempts.

This has resulted in a rise in Google searches for the quiz's solution. The search engine showed a 100% peak from February 6 - February 19 for the phrase "wordle solution." During this time, words like "ultra," "aroma" and "swill" made their appearance as the word of the day. Many accused the New York Times of using the uncommon word and claimed that the news portal made the game harder after acquiring it in January 2022.

Search for "wordle solution" was at its peak in February (Image via Google Trends)

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"Swill" and "aroma" were the most cheated-on answers on Wordle

According to wordfinderx.com, the search for the solution started with the word "siege" and reached its peak with "swill" and "aroma." Most cheaters look for the answers between 7 and 8:00 am, and New Hampshire tops the list.

The state had the most number of people who looked up the answer on February 19, 2022, which was "swill."

Second place on the list is tied between Rhode Island and Vermont, for the words "caulk" and "tacit," respectively. "Tacit" also became the top searched answer for Washington D.C., which placed third on the list. Massachusetts and Maine took up the fourth and fifth spot, respectively, for the word "dodge."

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The New York Times did not introduce tricky words into the game

The game was created by an American developer Josh Wardle, who designed it with the assistance of his partner, Palak Shah. Shah is an avid spelling bee and crossword player who made a list of 2,315 words to be fed into the game.

The game runs on an algorithm that randomly selects a new word from the list every day, giving Wardle a chance to enjoy solving it with everyone else.

After acquiring the game, the New York Times reportedly removed a few inappropriate words like "lynch" and "p*ssy," but the news portal has not made any additions.

We created a beginner's guide for Wordle that contains tips and tricks to solve the puzzle without googling the answer. Interested readers can check it out.