Six things Wordle's creator got right

When he created the free game Wordle, Josh Wardle got six things right, writes Clive Thompson in his Medium column. These six things can be described as design principles for just about any creative endeavor:

1) You don't need to reinvent the wheel

2) Making something as a gift is a powerful motivation

3) Make things for an audience of one

4) Observe what your fans are doing

5) Forget the app store: Make stuff on the open web

6) Engineer for occasional use, not for addiction

From Clive's column:

Brooklyn-based software developer Josh Wardle created it last year as a gift for his partner, who was obsessed with word games like the New York Times' "Spelling Bee".