--- description: Find out why Josh Wardle is one of the 100 most influential people of 2022. title: Josh Wardle: The 100 Most Influential People of 2022 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95c206bfec5e136d/698a320047ca385aef3b9992/Josh-Wardle-time100-2022.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- May 23, 2022 # Josh Wardle by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson  Minu Han _Wardle is the creator of the five-letter-word_ [_online game Wordle_](https://time.com/6143715/wordle-sale-josh-wardle-interview/ "undefined")_._ Today. Alarm. Arise. Teeth: brush, floss. Grabs phone. Loads. Rules clear. Legit words, slang taboo. Ready? Ready. Plays. Picks usual first guess. Sonar? Cable? Novel? Stare? Ashen block after ashen block. Lucky! Clues. Hints. Tries again. Fifth space, amber (maybe lemon?). Right vowel, wrong place. Tries again. Three right! First, green. Third, green. Fifth, amber (maybe lemon). Brain stirs. Words. Order. Usage. Logic. Tries again. Worse. Feels faint. Think! Needs quiet. Fight doubt. Avoid doing badly. Tries again Wrong! Shock, truly. Stuck. Brain blank. Sharp panic. Takes pulse. Keeps faith. Brain spark: vowel twice? Final guess. Every fiber tense. Waits. First block flips. Green. Green, green, green, green! Bliss! Alive again! Prize: pride. Inner peace. Waits. Night, alarm, teeth, phone, newly blank board. First guess again. Final point: minor thing, major magic. Daily light among bleak times. Happy place. Hence, folks thank JoshW ardle. _Thompson is a Grammy- and Oscar-winning musical artist and director_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2022/6177816/josh-wardle/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2022/6177816/josh-wardle/"},"headline":"Josh Wardle","datePublished":"2022-05-23T10:06:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:35.716Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2022/6177816/josh-wardle/","keywords":["TIME 100","franchise","TIME100 2022"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95c206bfec5e136d/698a320047ca385aef3b9992/Josh-Wardle-time100-2022.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95c206bfec5e136d/698a320047ca385aef3b9992/Josh-Wardle-time100-2022.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2022/6177816/josh-wardle/","name":"Josh Wardle"}}]}] ```