📚 Reading apps and reading coaches · 🎮 Learning games and sites
Quordle
By Merriam-Webster (created by Freddie Meyer). Visit Quordle
Desk research from the maker's own pages. Not yet tried by us. Checked 2026-10-24.
A free daily word puzzle in the style of Wordle, but with four five-letter words to solve at once in nine guesses. Each guess fills all four boards, so players weigh letters across words. Besides the daily game there are Chill, Extreme, Sequence, Rescue and weekly modes, plus unlimited practice. It runs in a web browser with no account. Good spelling and vocabulary practice for older kids and teens who like word games.
Our take: A good free brain warm-up for word-loving teens and confident older readers; younger kids will find nine guesses for four words frustrating.
Checked in a browser
A browser check on 2026-10-25: what loads, the ads and trackers we saw, and what a child meets first. Not a hands-on test.
| Child safety: 2 out of 5 | Programmatic ads were shown (a Samsung banner across the bottom, 10 ad frames), so adult-oriented ads are possible; no chat seen. |
|---|---|
| Data: 1 out of 5 | 27 ad networks and data brokers / ID-sync services (LiveRamp rlcdn, LiveIntent, Neustar agkn, id5, Tapad, Lotame crwdcntrl) fired before any consent. |
| Ease: 4 out of 5 | Big green Play buttons and short descriptions of each mode; the ad bar sits at the bottom of the screen. |
| Cost honesty: 5 out of 5 | Free to play; the Weekly Challenge unlocks by solving the daily puzzle, not by paying. |
What we found
- 155 third-party sites contacted on the first visit
- 27 known ad networks and 13 trackers, including 6 data broker or ID-sync services
- 200 cookies set before consent, from 75 third-party domains
- 10 ad frames; a display ad for a Samsung SSD was on the first screen
From the test: Fun word puzzle, but the first visit set off one of the heaviest ad and data-broker loads in this check, with ads on screen.
| Ages it suits | about 10 and up |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | Merriam-Webster says its sites are for a general audience and not aimed at children under 16. It will not knowingly take personal information from children under 13 without consent from a parent or school. Playing needs no account. (terms) |
| Price | Free. Free with ads (Oct 2026). |
| Works on | Web |
| Account | No account needed |
| Ads | Yes |
| In-app purchases | None |
| The AI in it | No AI. |
What's good
- Free with no sign-up
- Builds spelling and letter-pattern thinking
- Several difficulty modes and a practice mode
Watch for
- Ad-supported, with interest-based ad tracking
- The policies say the sites are not aimed at under-16s
- Easy to keep playing practice rounds
Data and privacy
Merriam-Webster's privacy policy says it works with third parties to show interest-based (behavioral) ads and uses Google Analytics demographics. It says it does not sell personal information it collects directly. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
No studies found.
In the Big Index
- On the list 16 word games the whole family can play
Alternatives to Quordle
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99math
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ABCya
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Handy for quick grade-level practice in class or at home; skip if you want an ad-free experience without paying.
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Adventure Academy
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Good for kids who love online games and need a nudge toward school subjects; families wanting no social contact should set chat to off or choose a solo app.
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Arcademics
Arcademics · ages about 6-14 (grades 1-8)
Fine for quick fact-fluency races at school or home; families who want no ad tracking or who have a child anxious about speed should skip it.
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Be Internet Awesome: Interland
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A good free starting point for online safety with kids 7-12, best paired with family talks since the game alone did not change behavior in testing.
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Blob Opera
David Li with Google Arts & Culture · ages about 4 and up
A delightful five-minute music toy for any age; not a music course.
Where these facts come from
- https://www.merriam-webster.com/games/quordle/
- https://web.archive.org/web/20261013144126id_/https://www.merriam-webster.com/i/terms-of-use
- https://web.archive.org/web/20261014005403id_/https://www.merriam-webster.com/i/privacy-policy
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.