Generally speaking, people who use Challenge a Friend feature on Wordle Unlimited use the following algorithm: put in the word, press "Create" button, and send the link. Yes, this is a general algorithm, but the problem is that there is one particular point which changes everything. After the addition of time limit to the challenge, the friend not only needs to guess the word, but also to do it in 30 seconds, 1 minute, or 2 minutes. Not the easiest task anymore, isn't it? That is how I perceive the Challenge a Friend feature on wordleunlimited.dev.

Where to find the challenge feature

If you have never sent a timed challenge to your friends, this guide will help you to perform it in several minutes. First, visit the official website, then go to Unlimited tab at the top of the page, and scroll down until you see the "Challenge a Friend" section. Here, you will find the form where you need to enter your word (with 4 to 7 letters long), enter your name (optional), choose time limit (four variants are available), and activate or deactivate the hint option. The form itself is very simple, and this is why people forget about setting the time limit.

Time limit options and when to use each

In total, there are four time limit options available: none, 30 seconds, 1 minute, and 2 minutes. Let me tell you when and how to use each of them depending on how much you want to scare your friend. In case of the none option, there is no time limit in the puzzle, and the friend will have infinite amount of time to solve it. This option is to be used in case of casual challenge or if the friend is slow in solving puzzles. 30 seconds option gives only 30 seconds to solve the puzzle: the friend won't have enough time even to type several words, not talking about solving the puzzle. This option is to be used in case the friend is really good at word games. Otherwise, it is torture. 1 minute time limit is the best choice: this is just enough time to make 4-5 guesses and to think about them. 2 minutes time limit gives the friend enough time to solve the puzzle in peace, yet with some pressure to play.

How I set up a timed challenge (step by step)

This is how I set up a timed challenge: within 20 seconds or less. First of all, I select a word which will be somewhat difficult to guess. The word should be from 5 to 6 letters long and contain some uncommon letter combination. PROXY, GLYPH, and JOKER are the examples of such words since they punish those who uses common opening words like AUDIO or STARE. After that, I enter the word in the appropriate field. Usually, I don't enter my name: my friends know that it is me. Then I set the time limit option to 1 minute for most friends and 30 seconds for the rest of them who say that they are really good at Wordle. After that, I toggle the "allow hints" option off if I want to make the game more difficult and vice versa. Finally, I press "Create challenge link" button and either copy the link or click "Send it to WhatsApp". Done, sent, waiting for panic voice notes.

What your friend experiences when opening the link

And now, the most interesting part of the process begins. When the friend clicks the link and opens it, the puzzle appears with the word that I chose as hidden one. He sees the grid, and typically, there is a message telling that this puzzle has a time limit. Right after he accepts the challenge and starts guessing the word, the timer starts counting. Depending on the time limit that I chose, the friend sees how seconds go away, wasting his valuable time to think. Psychological stress is the main factor making people guessing words wrong. The word which could be guessed within 4 guesses without any hurry becomes nearly impossible to guess under 30 seconds and under the pressure of guessing.

Share back moment that closes the loop

When the friend solves the puzzle or fails doing it and the time limit expires, he gets the results page which is shareable. The friend pushes the button "Share results" and sends them back to me or to the whole group chat. The share back moment makes the timed challenge spread fast in the group chats. One person shares the fail, the other one solves the challenge and sends the result back to the friend who gave him this puzzle, the third person creates the new puzzle and sends it back. In 20 minutes, the whole chat will be turned into the word battle using the single feature.

Words that work the best for timed challenges

Not all words work well as timed challenges, and I know it the hard way, since my friends complained several times about it. The words like APPLE or HOUSE are too easy for timed challenges: the friend will be able to guess them within 3 guesses easily even under the time pressure. In contrast, words like GNOME with silent letters or JAZZY with uncommon letter combination work perfectly. Words with double letters like GEEKY or BLOOD make the puzzles more difficult because common opening words don't check repeats. My favorite timed challenge words are PROXY, GLYPH, WALTZ, FJORD, and QUILT. These words contain five letters and are rather uncommon.

Quick note on privacy issue

One more great thing about how wordleunlimited.dev works with these challenge links is that they never store any data on their servers. The word is embedded directly into the URL, and therefore, no one logs any information. When the challenge link is opened on the friend's phone, everything happens locally in the browser. Therefore, you can send the challenge link without worrying that someone will log your words and contacts. This seems to be a small thing, but it surely is a great privacy improvement compared to other similar services.

Conclusion

Thus, if you've never tried sending a timed challenge on Wordle Unlimited before, I suggest you try it. Choose the word which will be somewhat difficult with 5 letters, set the time limit to 1 minute (at least, initially), turn off the hints to make everything fair, and send the link to the friend who is close to you and likes word games. The time pressure makes the entire experience completely different, and the share back moment usually leads to the next challenge in several minutes. The feature itself is absolutely free and doesn't require any login or registration. Besides, there are no ads that could interrupt your gaming flow, and this is the reason why this feature became the primary way I communicate with some of my friends who I rarely see.