The New York Times has bought the word game Wordle. The paper is well known for publishing games. Wordle is the latest addition to its list. Wordle is a new online game. Its maker, Josh Wardle, uploaded it in October. Since then, it has become a worldwide craze. Social media sites are now full of posts from people playing it and sharing their score. The newspaper said it paid "an undisclosed price in the low seven figures" for Wordle. It was excited it could publish the game. It wrote: "We could not be more thrilled to become its new home." It was "proud" of this "magical game".

Mr Wardle was a software engineer for the site Reddit. He made Wordle for his partner to play. He released it in October and was surprised that 90 people played it on the day of its release. Millions now play it every day. Wardle tweeted: "The game has got bigger than I ever imagined." He said he was surprised because he made it "for an audience of one". Wordle players have six attempts to guess a five-letter word. The game gives players feedback on which of the letters they have used are correct. The New York Times said that "initially" the game would remain free.