Why we’ve gone mad for puzzles

Our world feels chaotic, confusing and unfair, but puzzles offer clear rules, solvable problems and reward for effort expended

Wordle, a word game developed by Josh Wardle, first became a hit during the pandemic.

Maybe you’ve noticed it too. Everyone seems to have become fixated on puzzle games. 

In the morning, over coffee, I play Word Wheel on the Guardian app. Over lunch, colleagues compare notes on Tradle, the game where you guess a country from its exports. Which place exports about 45% fish and 50% crustaceans? Greenland.