Addicted to Wordle? How to bring back the fun

Late last year, weeks into a winning streak, meditation teacher and mindfulness coach Tim Hwang noticed something had changed about his Wordle habit. The New York Times puzzle challenges players to guess a five-letter word in six tries. Simple enough in itself, but Hwang had become overly focused on his stats. Revealing the word in the fewest possible guesses is a badge of honor for players. Long streaks also afford bragging rights. And Hwang began to feel like he was clinging to his record. "I started noticing that by day 40 of the streak that it just felt like an obligation to actually do the puzzle," Hwang told Mashable. "I didn't [enjoy] solving the problems. It was a relief just to complete it to keep my streak alive." Meanwhile, what had begun as a pleasurable text exchange with friends about their results had curdled for Hwang into painful comparisons over who'd solved the puzzle and in how many tries. The joy of playing had fizzled. He'd become competitive about Wordle, and arguably even addicted. Hwang decided to stop playing for months — and would only return to the game after identifying ways to apply the skills he'd learned as a meditation teacher. Crucially, he didn't