The Wordle Clone That Has Pokemon Fans Going Wild

Two of the most popular forces in gaming right now are about to collide. Critics are praising "Pokémon: Arceus" as one of the most innovative games to come out of the series in decades. Players love the big changes Game Freak has made to the formula, such as revamping evolutions, changing up the way shiny hunting works, adding new Hisuian forms, and adding things like research tasks. Meanwhile, "Wordle" is taking over the internet and has grown so popular that it was recently purchased by the New York Times for a tidy seven-figure sum. Many have been worried that this new acquisition might mean everyone's new favorite daily word game will soon be locked behind a paywall, and are turning to one of the many emerging "Wordle" clones for solace.

Crossovers have been a staple of the "Pokémon" brand since the beginning. It's a big part of what's made the franchise so successful. Well, now there's one for "Wordle" fans who want to be the very best, like no one ever was. A new, "Pokémon" themed, "Wordle" clone has just taken the internet by storm. It isn't officially licensed by either Game Freak or the New York Times, but when has that ever stopped innovative fans from making a free-to-play game?

The game is called "Squirdle Daily" in a clever blending of the words Wordle and Squirtle, the first gen, Water-Type starter Pokémon. It was created by Costa Rican software developer Sergio Morales Esquivel, aka Fireblend, who has created or assisted in the development of at least eight other experimental indie games. On the game page, it refers to itself as "a Pokémon Wordle-like." While the structure is similar to "Wordle" classic, the rules are quite different.

"Squirdle Daily" isn't simply about typing in the names of Pokémon and trying to figure out which one it is based on the letters. That wouldn't work very well since most of the Pokémon names vary in length and it would probably get old quickly with such a comparatively limited pool. Instead, players have eight guesses to try and figure out the Pokémon of the day. After their first guess, a row will appear letting the player know where that Pokémon fits in each category: Gen, Type 1, Type 2, Height, and Weight. If the Pokémon is in the correct category, the box beside their guess will turn green. If they are wrong, it will turn red in either of the Type categories, or there will be an arrow in the other categories indicating that the correct Pokémon is in a higher or lower Gen, Height, or Weight.

Only true Pokéfans will stand a chance at this daily challenge.