Update: For those diehard Wordle players like myself, I did find another way to determine whether or not a guessed letter is in the word. This is not as Quick, straightforward, and automatic as the previous JavaScript bookmarklet solution, and I’m not certain if it will work on all iPhones, but I would say you will need to have at least iOS 15 to do this (iOS 14 might also work, but no guarantees). I have not tested with any prior versions of iOS, and have only tested in Safari on my iPhone SE. also, you will need to remember what each color represents. Green equals correct letter in the correct position; yellow equals correct letter but not in correct position.
The method involves ensuring you have a gesture assigned for ‘Describe Image’ in the Voiceover commands. (Note: There is not one assigned by default.) This can be found under Settings> Accessibility>Voiceover>Commands>All Commands>Voiceover. Describe Image is the first item in the subsequent list. Activate this and select Add Gesture. Choose from one of the gestures in the list. For example, I have mine assigned to the Four finger swipe down gesture.
Once this is done, go to Wordle and put in your first guess. Don’t forget to press ENTER on the bottom left-hand corner to submit it. (Note: To change any letters before submitting your entry, the delete button is still located on the bottom right-hand corner, and it’s just identified as ‘button’ by Voiceover. For example, let’s say you guessed the word ‘slide’. Now, find each letter on the on-screen QWERTY keyboard. So, using the ‘slide’ example, place your finger on the letter S. Perform the gesture you assigned to the Describe Image command. If you hear either the color green or yellow in the description, it is either in the correct position or it is a letter in the word but not in the correct position. If you hear anything else but do not hear either of these two colors in the description, the letter is not in the word; (The other possibility is that the letter in focus has not yet been guessed, so it is helpful to keep track of the letters and words you have already tried). Do this with each of the four remaining letters in the word to determine which ones are correct and/or in the correct positions.
One other thing to keep in mind: You will not be notified when you have solved the word. There is no pop-up, as there was with the previous JavaScript bookmarklet solution, letting you know that the word has been solved. If you think you have all of the correct letters and they are all in the correct positions, you can check to see if you have solved it by checking the statistics information text located near the top left-hand corner of the screen. If the word has been solved, this item will become shareable. To find out if this is the case, double tap on it. This will copy your results to the clipboard. To be sure, swipe right once. You should hear Voiceover say something like ‘results copied to clipboard’. You can now share your results with your friends or on social media.
I hope this helps someone.
Good Luck, and Happy Wordling!
By Vicky, 25 June, 2022
Forum
iOS and iPadOS Gaming
Comments
The Wordle accessible bookmarklet
I absolutely love Wordle. But the accessible bookmarklet that I have always used stopped working for me yesterday. Is anyone else having the same problem? When I go into Wordle and then ope the accessible bookmarklet, it doesn't say that it is running. I have tried to change the web page settings but with no difference. Does anyone have any suggestions? I will also try the suggestion of coming up with a describe image command. Thanks.
@Jo - Yes, The New York…
@Jo - Yes, The New York Times has evidently made a change to the coding of the Wordle webpage. As I love this game so much, I was determined to find another means by which I could still play it, until (hopefully) the New York Times either corrects this issue or makes Wordle accessible by default. If you go to Settings on the Wordle page, there is an option to leave feedback. You may wish to contact them that way, requesting that they make Wordle screen reader accessible. I have not done this as yet but I’m planning to do so. The more people that contact them, the more likely they will be to address this.
Would it be possible…
Wondering if the person who developed the original bookmarklet May I update it to match the changes that the New York Times has obviously made. Maybe something worth just keeping an ion.
That would be awesome
If the original creator of the JavaScript bookmarklet is able to update it to reflect the recent changes the New York Times made on the Wordle page, that would be amazing. In the meantime, I will continue to update this post if I find other helpful tips with respect to implementing the method I came up with.
More than one instance of the same letter or word not in list
Question: What if your entry contains more than one of the same letter, or is not in the word list?
Answer: Your entries appear at the top of the screen. The easiest way to find them using Voiceover is to first locate the Settings button at the top right-hand side of the screen, then swipe right. You will then be focused on the first letter of the first word you have guessed. You can then continue to swipe right letter by letter. When you encounter the word that contains more than one of the same letter, swipe to the letter you wish to identify if it is present, absent, or correct, then perform the gesture you assigned to the Describe Image command.
You will know if your entry is not in the word list if, after submitting it, you locate each letter and perform the Describe Image command, and the description feedback for each letter says something like ‘A black number on a white surface’, ‘A black object on a white surface’, or something along those lines. If that is the case, you will need to delete that word bye pressing the delete button on the bottom right hand corner until the word is deleted. When the word that is not in the list is completely deleted, it will no longer appear as a submitted entry at the top of the screen.
Couldn't get describe image to work
For some reason the describe image didn't work for me. I will say though to make sure you do not have describe images off in your rotor settings. I checked it to make sure. Also tried "by chance" things like turn on sounds, turn off screen curtain, and etc. in case that made a difference. I also tried a couple different gestures. I as well did send them a note asking to make it accessible. Hopefully someone read it. I got a generic auto reply.
Thank you!
Your hack worked for me, Vicky, and I just wanted to express my gratitude for it. You're right - it's nowhere near as user-friendly as the bookmarklet, but it gets the job done. Unfortunately I'm not in a position to comment on any hardware/software limitations for this fix, as I'm using a 12Pro running IOS15.5. For those wondering, though, I suspect Vicky's assessment above is right.
I also sent the NYT feedback on improving native accessibility and/or making it possible to use the bookmarklet again. Wordle fans, let's all let them know this should be prioritized!
More Details Please
Brad, I’m sorry to hear my method has not worked for you. What iPhone did you try this on? What version of iOS are you running? What browser did you use? Having this information may help narrow down The issue and potentially come up with a solution.
This made my day!!!
Michelle, thank you so much for your comment and feedback. I’m so glad you were able to use my method to play Wordle! I’m really glad to hear this! I can tell you that, as much as I love the JavaScript bookmarklet solution, the one thing I will say about my method is that I don’t need to worry about forgetting what Voiceover said because there was no way to repeat the output once I submitted a guessed word.
I do hope that it will be possible for anyone using a screen reader to play Wordle again, regardless of what platform they use.
Wordle Workaround
Thanks Vicky. Awkward workaround but it works. I think I may need a Wordle 12-Step group. Definitely hooked.
You’re welcome.
@Greg - Glad it worked for you - thanks for the feedback! I might need a 25 step group. Lol
Worsening Problems with Wordle.
I can solve the Wordle using the method detailed in the above post. However, now when I double tap on statistics to share my results, it won't show the share button. It says something like: "are your stats not looking right" and something about logging in or creating a free account. I am using an iPhone 12 Mini and have tried having the reader on and off as well as the desktop and the mobile site on and off with no difference. Is anyone else having this issue? It just seems like the page is really going downhill as far as accessibility is concerned.
I’m really sorry…
I’m really sorry, but it seems it is no longer possible to access the share button using my method. I had not used this method since the JavaScript bookmarklet had been updated and fixed. However, I just tried it and cannot find any way to invoke the share button with my method. It is possible to activate the share button using the updated JavaScript bookmarklet though. Fingers crossed this bookmarklet will work for many days to come and won’t be broken by the New York Times…
Anyone heard of Heardl?
Hello,
Just like Wordl, Heardl is hear now, and it's about songs. a small clip of a song is played, and you have to guess it. you can add more to the track, but it's a one song a day thing, kinda like in the word game. I think I'll wait to play that Wordl until accessability gets better, if it does.
I’ve never heard of that.
thanks for the tip. Sounds interesting. Maybe I will Google it and check it out. By the way, the Wordle game can be played if you add the accessibility JavaScript applet, which now has been working again for a few weeks. Wordle is a really fun game, I highly recommend it. :)