Wordle: The Party Game isn’t really the first Wordle board game

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  How do I do this without a touchscreen? [credit: NYT / Hasbro ]

On Thursday, The New York Times and Hasbro announced Wordle: The Party Game, a $20 physical version of the viral web game hit that will be available starting in October. But this new game is far from the first to allow players to essentially "play Wordle in real life," as the marketing copy promises.

Aside from the obvious change in medium, Wordle: The Party Game differentiates itself from its digital inspiration mainly through multiplayer gameplay designed for two to four players (recommended for ages 14 and up, according to the manufacturer). The most basic play mode has players alternating as the "host" who gets to choose a secret five-letter word—don't worry, CNN reports the game will come packaged with "an official word list to use, compiled by the Times" if you can't think of your own.

The non-host player then uses an included dry-erase game board to guess at the host's secret word. After that, the host marks letters using translucent green and yellow tiles—patterned after the digital game—to indicate letters that are in the correct spot and letters that are present somewhere else in the secret word, respectively. Players receive points based on how many guesses it takes to home in on the secret word.