Think of the name Hearst. Yes, the name associated with William Randolph Hearst — and with the Hearst Corporation, which owns several newspapers and magazines. How many words can you make from the letters in Hearst? Hearts, earths, haters... If that sounds fun, you’ll enjoy the new word game called Shuffalo.
The New Yorker’s daily puzzle game challenges you to spell words from scrambled letters. But there’s a twist: each time you reach a milestone, the game adds another letter to spell around. And if you solve five rounds of the puzzle, there’s a bonus round to conquer.
Anagrams, The New Yorker points out, have been “dismissed by some as ‘intellectually frivolous’ (A. E. Housman) or a mere ‘trifle’ (Ben Jonson).” Yet the art of anagramming — rearranging the letters in one word or phrase to form another — has provided plenty of writers with literary inspiration. The poet-singer Jim Morrison even nicknamed himself Mr. Mojo Risin’.
The time you take to solve the game is recorded — and the faster you finish, the greater your bragging rights on social media. Shuffalo is based on a game created by New Yorker crossword constructor Adam Wagner. You can play a new Shuffalo every day in the Games hub or by signing up for the Puzzles & Games newsletter.
Is this the next Wordle? Shuffalo is definitely addictive — much like Wordle, which was created by Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Palak Shah, a lover of word games and crossword puzzles. Eventually, The New York Times bought it for a considerable sum.
Remember, once you solve a new Shuffalo, don’t share the answers on social media.