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Another Wordle Archive Shuts Down Under New York Times Pressure

Wordle Archive allowed you to play the puzzles you might have missed, but now it's gone.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
2 min read
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Computational biologist Devang Thakkar launched Wordle Archive in early January, but it's now defunct.

Wordle Archive/Screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET

Looking to go back and play Wordles you missed? You might be out of luck. 

Wordle Archive once had you covered, giving you access to all the entries in the viral word game's back-catalog. But that dream is now over. The archive's creator announced Wednesday that The New York Times, which bought Wordle in late January, asked for the site to be shut down.

The Wordle Archive was an open-source tool "made with love" by computational biologist and designer Devang Thakkar, who launched the site in early January. Thakkar tweeted in late January that his archive was getting over 100,000 users a day, a testament to the public hunger for more Wordle.  

"It has been a fun three months since I launched this archive and it brought joy to a lot of us but all good things must end," Thakkar said in a statement. "The New York Times has requested that I shut the archive down -- to be honest, I was wondering what took them so long." The news outlet had already shut down a different Wordle Archive in March. The Times didn't immediately return a request for comment.

One of the great charms of the original Wordle is that you can only play once a day to guess the five-letter word within six tries. So I felt a bit naughty indulging in Wordle Archive, like I was breaking an unspoken social contract. Wordle is supposed to be a precious little gem, a fleeting moment of pleasure that's reborn each day. With the archive gone, I feel more pressure to make sure I hit up Wordle every day. 

I had mixed feelings about the stockpile of Wordle games, but Thakkar provided a service for the Wordle-obsessed. It was a test of self-control, like eating potato chips. Can you play just one? How about a handful? 

Or maybe you tackled the entire thing and end up with nothing but an abyss to stare into, full yet unsatiated. That's a temptation that has now been removed.

The Wordle Archive was like a treasure chest for me, something I opened from time to time to grab a pretty bauble. But I now (unwillingly) close the lid for good and continue to pledge my devotion to the original Wordle, once a day as it was intended.