Developing a Wordle Game in Python: My Journey So Far

Introduction

As part of my final project for a Programming course, I’ve been developing a Python-based version of the popular Wordle game. For those unfamiliar, Wordle is a word-guessing game where players have six attempts to guess a secret five-letter word, with feedback provided after each guess. While the project is still in progress, I’ve made significant strides in building the core mechanics, such as selecting a random word, processing user guesses, and providing feedback. This article details my journey so far, including the technical challenges I've faced and what I’ve learned through the process. It’s been a rewarding exercise in both Python programming and problem-solving, and I’m eager to share my experience as I work towards completing the project.

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Why I Chose to Create a Wordle Game

I chose to recreate Wordle in Python because it’s a game that offers the perfect blend of simplicity and complexity. It allowed me to tackle real-world programming challenges while working on something fun and familiar. I was especially drawn to the idea of building a game that required immediate user feedback—something that pushes the limits of traditional exercises and lets me apply a range of Python skills, from file handling to algorithmic logic.

From the start, I saw this project as an opportunity to deepen my understanding of Python and how to apply it to real-world scenarios. With Wordle, I’m working on core programming concepts like loops, conditionals, and input validation. Additionally, developing this game without graphical elements (entirely through the terminal) presents its own set of interesting challenges—ones that can sharpen my skills for more complex software development tasks in the future.

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Breaking Down the Project Plan

To keep the development process on track, I created a flowchart (above) to map out the logical structure of the game. Visualizing the steps from selecting a word to checking user input has been extremely helpful. Here's a breakdown of how I’m tackling the project, one step at a time:

1. Word Selection
   The first task was to figure out how to select a random word for the user to guess. To do this, I’m using two text files: one containing valid target words (target_words.txt) and another listing all acceptable guess words (all_words.txt). The random library in Python allows me to pick a word at random from the target list. This feature was straightforward to implement, but it forms the backbone of the game—every round starts with this randomly selected word.

2. Guess Validation and User Input
   Next, I focused on handling user guesses. In each round, the player types in a word, and the program checks if that word exists in the allowed word list. If the word is valid, the guess count increases, and the game proceeds to check if the letters in the guessed word match the target word. If the word is not valid, the player is prompted to try again. This helps ensure that the player’s guesses stay within the rules of the game, just like the original Wordle.

3. Providing Feedback
   The most engaging part of Wordle is the feedback system, which tells the player how close they are to guessing the correct word. To mimic this, I wrote logic that checks each letter of the guessed word against the target word.

   • If the letter is in the correct position, it’s flagged as a “green” letter.

   • If the letter is in the word but in the wrong position, it’s marked as “yellow.”

   • If the letter isn’t in the word at all, it’s marked as “grey.”

   These indicators help guide the player through their guesses. Although I’m working entirely within the Python terminal and not using any graphical elements, I’ve structured the output to make it easy for the player to follow their progress with each guess.

My focus so far has been on ensuring the word validation and feedback processes work smoothly, but as the game develops, I’ll be refining these components and adding more functionality.

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Key Features of the Wordle Game

As I’ve developed the game, I’ve focused on implementing its core features in a way that feels intuitive and keeps the player engaged—despite the lack of any graphical interface. These are some of the key elements I’ve worked on so far:

1. Word Selection
   The game randomly selects a target word from a list of valid words stored in a text file. This list consists of commonly used five-letter words, which I store in target_words.txt. I also maintain a broader list of acceptable words (all_words.txt), which includes any five-letter word the user could reasonably guess. The Python random module makes the word selection process simple, ensuring each game starts with a fresh, random word.

2. Input Validation
   After the word is selected, the game prompts the player to guess a five-letter word. Validating the player's input is a critical part of the gameplay. The guessed word must exist in the all_words.txt file to be considered valid. If the player enters a word that isn’t in the list, they receive a prompt to try again, ensuring the integrity of the game.

3. Feedback on Guesses
   The feedback system is the heart of Wordle, and it’s something I’ve paid close attention to in my implementation. After each valid guess, the game evaluates the guess against the target word. Here’s how the feedback works:

   • Green Letters: These indicate that a letter is in the correct position.

   • Yellow Letters: These show that a letter is in the word but in the wrong position.

   • Grey Letters: These signal that a letter is not present in the target word at all.

   Each guess results in a colour-coded response—though in this case, it's represented with text—allowing the player to adjust their strategy for future guesses. This feedback mechanism is what makes Wordle addictive, and I wanted to ensure it was both accurate and easy to follow, even in a terminal-based game.

4. Guess Limitation
   Just like the original game, my version allows the player only six attempts to guess the target word. After each round, the guess count increases, and if the player hits six incorrect guesses, the game ends and reveals the correct word. This constraint adds an element of urgency, making the game more exciting as the guesses narrow down.

These core features—word selection, input validation, feedback, and guess limitation—are the backbone of the game and ensure a consistent and enjoyable player experience, even in a terminal environment. By focusing on these aspects, I’m able to simulate the key features of the original Wordle without relying on advanced graphical elements.

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Challenges Encountered and Solutions (So Far)

While developing the Wordle game has been a rewarding experience, it has come with its fair share of challenges. Here are some of the key difficulties I’ve faced and the solutions I’ve implemented so far:

1. Handling Invalid Words
   One of the first challenges I encountered was ensuring that the player's guessed word was valid. This meant checking the guessed word against the all_words.txt list while still allowing the player to guess multiple times if needed. Initially, this check created delays in the game flow, especially if the input was invalid. To fix this, I implemented a loop that only breaks when the input is confirmed as valid, streamlining the input validation process.

2. Feedback System Complexity
   Designing the feedback system to give proper responses based on letter positions was another major challenge. The process of checking each letter individually, determining whether it was in the word and in the right place, required careful attention to detail. I implemented a system that uses tuples to flag the state of each letter:

   • A 2 for letters in the correct position,

   • A 1 for letters in the wrong position but still in the word,

   • And a 0 for letters not found in the word at all.

   This system made it easier to track and display feedback accurately, mimicking the original game’s colour-coded feedback but in text format.

3. Edge Case Handling
   There are many edge cases to consider in a word-guessing game like this. For instance, what happens when the guessed word contains multiple instances of a letter, or how to handle cases where a guessed letter appears in the word but only in one position? Tackling these edge cases has required iterative debugging and continuous refinement of the game's logic. I’ve made good progress, but there are still a few complex cases I’m working on to ensure a seamless gameplay experience.

4. Guess Limit and Game End
   Ensuring that the game ends after six guesses was another challenge, particularly when dealing with user input loops. I needed to make sure that if the guess count reached six, the game would gracefully terminate and display the correct word to the player. By tracking the number of guesses in a variable, I’ve successfully implemented a condition that ends the game when the limit is reached, while still allowing the user to see the outcome of their last guess.

Overall, solving these challenges has been a great way to improve my debugging and problem-solving skills in Python. Each issue has taught me something new about handling data, managing loops, and improving code efficiency, all while maintaining a smooth user experience.

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What’s Next: Future Improvements

Although the core mechanics of the game are functional, there’s still a lot of room for improvement, and I have a few additional features in mind to further enhance the game’s playability. Here’s a look at some of the features and refinements I’m planning to implement:

1. Enhanced Feedback Display
   Right now, the feedback system uses numerical values to represent letter states (0, 1, 2). While this works in a terminal environment, I’d like to refine this output to make it even more user-friendly. I’m thinking about using coloured text (such as green for correct letters, yellow for misplaced ones, and grey for incorrect guesses) to visually represent the status of each letter, making the game more intuitive to play.

2. Improve Input Handling
   Another potential improvement is to enhance input handling by automatically converting any uppercase letters to lowercase. This will prevent accidental input errors and ensure that the game recognizes guesses in a case-insensitive manner, which is in line with how most word games are played. Currently, the game is strict with input, but allowing more flexibility would make the experience smoother for players.

3. More Word Variety
   While the game already pulls from a list of target words, I plan to expand this by adding more challenging or themed word lists. For instance, I could include different difficulty levels by using more obscure words in higher difficulty settings, adding another layer of customization to the game. This will give players a broader range of possible target words and keep the game fresh over multiple rounds.

4. Refining Game Logic for Edge Cases
   As I continue testing, I’ve found a few edge cases where the feedback system might not be as accurate as I’d like—such as handling multiple occurrences of the same letter in the target word. Fixing these will ensure that the game plays more smoothly and aligns perfectly with the logic of the original Wordle. I plan to continue refining these cases to improve the overall gameplay.

These improvements will help round out the project and make it more robust, both in terms of code quality and the player experience. They’re also opportunities to practice new programming techniques, ensuring that I continue growing as a developer.

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You can check out the code on my GitHub repository.