"Worldle" Faces a Wordle Hurdle

Kory McDonald, the creator of “Worldle”, a geography-themed game, is advocating on behalf of all games ending in “-le”.  Worldle shows a series of Google Street view images from which players guess the location.

McDonald has applied to trademark “Worldle”, but The New York Times, which makes available the famed “Wordle” game, has filed a notice of opposition against the application, despite reportedly originally saying that it was “fine with [similar games]” and that “imitation is the best form of flattery.” 

The New York Times reportedly takes issue with the similarity of the names of the games.  They believe that McDonald is “creating confusion” and profiting off Wordle’s success.  The New York Times is concerned that any fault found with Worldle by players could reflect badly on Wordle and its business.

McDonald reportedly believes that Worldle would not confuse anyone, despite the one letter difference.  He has argued that Wordle players would instantly know that they have ended up at the wrong site if they arrive at the Worldle site rather than the Wordle site.

Though McDonald is disappointed by the New York Times’ response, he is reportedly not backing down.  McDonald has reportedly said, “[t]here’s a whole industry of [dot]LE games” created by hobbyists and he is standing up for all of them.