Once in a while a new game or social media challenge will become a full viral craze. Wordle is definitely in that category, with countless users out there playing the word game daily (and sharing their results on social media). That popularity has resulted in a number of offshoot games, with the latest being a Worlde for movie lovers called Framed. And it’s just as addictive.
The Wordle fad has been strong for weeks now, resulting in a few spinoffs from other websites. There’s one for music lovers called Heardle, and now movie buffs are getting their own guessing game. Framed is set up similarly to its predecessors, and challenges your movie knowledge by being able to visually identify famous movies.
Rather than a video, those playing Framed will be shown one still from the daily movie choice. Players will then be challenged to guess the movie. With each failed answer comes a new still, with 6 tries in total allowed. It seems like said images start off more cryptic, before eventually showing main characters and famous actors that starred in it. The hints are easier as it goes along, which is why you can post your results to show your impressive knowledge as a cinephile. Just like Worlde, but for movie nerds.
I decided to give it a try myself today, as this is perhaps the best version of Wordle for me. The movie of choice was Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, and it definitely took me a few guesses to identify that Oscar nominated 2006 mystery movie. First I was shown a courtroom scene, which helped to establish the timeframe of the flick. Then there was a shot of a graveyard, which still wasn’t specific enough for me. But when Scarett Johansson and Christian Bale started appearing, I was eventually able to win the Framed for the day. Although I resisted the urge to Tweet my score.
Clearly there’s an open market for these types of guessing games, especially now that they’re being tailored for the players’ specific tastes. Movie buffs have their own, and I’m hoping to see #FilmTwitter lighting up with people’s scores. But the question is, how much more niche can we make a game like Framed? Can we get one just for horror movies, or comic book projects? The sky’s the limit, especially if Framed ends up with a fraction of the success seen by Wordle.
There are plenty of games out there for movie lovers, including the Cinephile card game and old classics like Scene It?. But Framed is done easily on your phone or computer, and can be refreshed once a day like Worldle. Who doesn’t want to see how well their movie knowledge stacks up against your friends and family? Although as a competitive person, this might also start a few friendly arguments over the dinner table.
