Build a daily word game with Python

Creating a daily word game in Python can be both fun and educational. Here’s a complete example of a simple daily word guessing game inspired by popular formats like Wordle. The game picks a daily word (based on the date) and lets the player guess it, providing feedback on correct letters and positions.

python
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import datetime
import random

# List of possible words (choose a manageable list or load from a file)
WORD_LIST = [
    "apple", "brain", "chair", "dream", "eagle",
    "flute", "grape", "house", "input", "joker",
    "knock", "lemon", "music", "night", "ocean",
    "plant", "queen", "river", "snake", "table",
    "uncle", "vivid", "water", "xenon", "yield", "zebra"
]

def get_daily_word(word_list):
    """Select a word based on the current date to ensure daily consistency."""
    today = datetime.date.today()
    # Use the date to create a seed so the word is consistent for a day
    seed = int(today.strftime('%Y%m%d'))
    random.seed(seed)
    return random.choice(word_list)

def check_guess(secret_word, guess):
    """Check guess against secret word and return feedback."""
    feedback = []
    secret_word_letters = list(secret_word)

    # First pass: correct letter and position
    for i in range(len(guess)):
        if guess[i] == secret_word[i]:
            feedback.append('🟩')  # Correct letter and position
            secret_word_letters[i] = None  # Mark as used
        else:
            feedback.append(None)

    # Second pass: correct letter wrong position
    for i in range(len(guess)):
        if feedback[i] is None:
            if guess[i] in secret_word_letters:
                feedback[i] = '🟨'  # Correct letter wrong position
                secret_word_letters[secret_word_letters.index(guess[i])] = None
            else:
                feedback[i] = '⬜'  # Letter not in word

    return ''.join(feedback)

def main():
    word_length = 5
    max_attempts = 6

    secret_word = get_daily_word(WORD_LIST)
    print(f"Welcome to the Daily Word Game! Guess the {word_length}-letter word.")
    print(f"You have {max_attempts} attempts.n")

    attempts = 0
    while attempts < max_attempts:
        guess = input(f"Attempt {attempts + 1}: ").lower().strip()

        if len(guess) != word_length:
            print(f"Please enter a {word_length}-letter word.")
            continue

        if guess not in WORD_LIST:
            print("Word not in dictionary. Try another word.")
            continue

        attempts += 1
        feedback = check_guess(secret_word, guess)
        print(feedback)

        if guess == secret_word:
            print(f"Congratulations! You guessed the word in {attempts} attempts.")
            break
    else:
        print(f"Sorry! The word was '{secret_word}'.")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

How It Works:

• The daily word is chosen deterministically based on the current date, so the word stays the same for all players on a given day.

• The player has 6 attempts to guess the 5-letter word.

• After each guess, feedback is shown using colored squares:

  • 🟩 (green) means the letter is correct and in the correct position.

  • 🟨 (yellow) means the letter is in the word but wrong position.

  • ⬜ (white) means the letter is not in the word.

• Only words from the predefined list are accepted.

You can expand this by adding a larger word list, saving results, or building a graphical interface. Let me know if you want a version with those features!