Wordle's Wickedly Wonderous Appeal: 'Simplicity Is The Key To Having Success'

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The colorful cubes are all the rage with an addictive game called Wordle.

The rules are simple: players try to guess the word of the day. You get six tries. You've got a correct letter and correct location of the letter when the cube turns green. Yellow means correct but wrong location.

Get the right word and you're urged to share your success with a vast audience on social media.

"I enjoy it. I think it's fun," said one fan.

"Simplicity is the key to having success."

Brandon Gains is the VP of Monetize More, a marketing agency that helps websites and apps build their businesses.

"In a word, it's scarcity."

Here's what separates Wordle from other online games: There's only one word to solve each day. Also making it attractive: no advertisements or menus. So far this year, Wordle has been tweeted about 1.3 million times.

"That's worth its weight in gold."

Gains calls that engagement social currency.

"So for each person talking about it, it kind of creates a loop of a new person trying it and just continues to grow from that point."

People have been enjoying word games for many years. But now, pick up a phone and you can join a enormous community of other Wordle addicts and the game markets itself

Wordle's creator told NPR around 2.77 million people are playing the game right now. He said he's glad it's helped friends and family find a way to stay connected in the pandemic.