The Wordle guy’s latest move tells us a lot about modern-day ambition

He is one letter away from being a household name. Now Josh Wardle, the inventor of Wordle, has launched a new online game, and in doing so, provided an interesting insight into ambition.
For some, creating a global smash hit puzzle so zeitgeisty and popular it becomes part of millions of strangers’ daily routines and is bought by the New York Times for seven figures would have been sufficient for a lifetime. Rather than face inevitable comparison and potential disappointment by attempting That Difficult Second Album, they would have just kicked back on their yacht and called it a day.
Instead, Wardle is back to try his luck again. The jury is out on whether this is admirable or greedy, brave or foolish. It does seem to suggest that there are two types of people in this realm: the haves and the have-yachts, if you will. The latter are thoroughly satisfied with their success, financial reward and validation. The former, no matter how much they have, are always hungry for more. Yeah, my mansion is great, but what if I had two mansions? What if I was twice as validated?
With uncanny timing, Wardle’s new game, Parseword, made its debut the same week that a poster boy for ambition turned cautionary tale – Timothée Chalamet – crashed and burned. The actor had previously been so open regarding intentions most never name that a magical about-face occurred, and a naked desire for success became cool and aspirational. It probably didn’t hurt that he announced his plan for world domination while accepting the trophy for best male actor in a leading role at the 2025 Sag awards, ie when he was pretty much already there.
“The truth is, I’m really in pursuit of greatness. I know people don’t usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats,” he said, while everybody watching looked at everybody else to see if this was OK. The general consensus seemed to be that yes, it was. Chalamet had the talent to back up this level of self-belief, so it was allowed. He took that ball and ran with it, but sadly, a little too far, crossing the line between confident and arrogant, and setting up camp. He needed the adult equivalent of your mum telling you to stop showing off in front of your friends, but alas, did not get it.
Every stage of the promotion and Oscar campaign for his next film, Marty Supreme, was accompanied by a viral quote more audacious than the last. He boasted, “I give 170% in everything I’m doing,” (apart from maths, presumably) before following it up with an outburst which made that look humble and grounded. “This is probably my best performance and it’s been like seven, eight years that I feel like I’ve been handing in really, really committed, top-of-the-line performances,” he told film YouTuber Margaret Gardiner, in an interview that, curiously, no longer appears on her channel.
“It’s important to say it out loud because the discipline and the work ethic I’m bringing to these things, I don’t want people to take for granted. I don’t want to take it for granted. This is really some top-level shit,” he added. Read that last part again and imagine it coming out of David Brent’s mouth. Easier than it should be, isn’t it?
By the time Chalamet uttered the instantly immortal, “I don’t want to be working in ballet, or opera, or things where it’s like, ‘Hey! Keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this any more,’” his fate was sealed. (Inside an envelope, on a card which read: The Oscar for best actor in a leading role goes to Michael B Jordan for Sinners.)
What we take away from all of this is unclear. Maybe it’s that we should be happy and grateful with our lot, especially when it’s a lot. Or that it’s fine to aim higher, strive for extra rather than lazing on our laurels – conceivably with the caveat: “As long as you keep your feet on the ground, think before you speak and don’t punch (what you see as) down.” Believe in yourself, within reason?
Time will tell. Perhaps when Wardle either buys his next yacht, or wishes he’d let his first idea have the last word.
Polly Hudson is a freelance writer