The New York Times purchased Wordle from creator Josh Wardle in January for an “undisclosed price in the low seven figures.” Like several of the Times’ other games — including the crossword and word game Spelling Bee — Wordle has a “streak” counter, which tracks how many days in a row players get the correct answer.Some fans shared Wordle alternatives, and Chris Pitts of Texas even made their own version, Strikle, which, according to Vice, plays the union song “Solidarity Forever” and thanks players for not being “scabs,” labor slang for a person who crosses a picket line, if they get the right answer.This can be especially true if the streak is recorded: A June 2022 study in the Journal of Consumer Research noted that people “consider maintaining a logged streak to be a meaningful goal in and of itself.”Many video games encourage users to engage with them every day, notes Naomi Clark, chair at the New York University Games Center, which she called “appointment gaming” in an email to The Post.These appointments can feel bigger than just an everyday habit, Clark wrote.When something good happens a few times, we want to believe it could keep on going — that it could be a bright fixture in the worryingly dim and hazy landscape of the future … Even if we know a Wordle win after six guesses is no big deal, we’re relieved to know that this part of our lives is still there, still controllable."