Games – Ryan Benbow's Blog

Wordle: One Year Update

January 21, 2023
by Ryan

The first time I ever played Wordle was one year ago tomorrow – January 22, 2022. I have played the official daily Wordle puzzle every day since then, for a grand total of 365 times. So, as of right now, on January 21, 2023, I have one full year’s worth of Wordle scores under my belt. In honor of the one-year mark, I thought I would take some time on here to share my progress and some Wordle memories from the past year.

In case you would like some additional background on Wordle before reading ahead, I have two previous Wordle-related posts on this blog. First, if you don’t know how Wordle works by now but you still want to learn how to play, you can check out my original Wordle post from February 5, 2022 in which I explain how Wordle works and provide my initial experience with the puzzle just two weeks after playing it for the first time. And I also have a follow-up post from May 1, 2022, in which I provide a recap of my first 100 days of playing it, as well as information regarding Nerdle (the math puzzle) and other Wordle parody games. This post will be a similar entry to the one from May, except this one will serve as a one-year update rather than just 100 days. Also, if you read all the way to the end of this one (or at least scroll to the bottom), I’ll have a new game to tell you about – the Wordle party game.

Football

Tecmo Super Bowl

September 11, 2022
by Ryan

Back when I was in high school during the mid-1990s, one of my hobbies during my spare time was playing Nintendo. Although few years (decades?) have passed since then, it was the popular video game system of my era. My favorite games to play during that time included Super Mario Bros, Tetris, and Tecmo Super Bowl.

During the fall of 2021, I learned of a site where we can go back and play some of these Nintendo games from that era. Ever since then, every so often, I have taken the opportunity to get re-acquainted with some of these games. Although I was not able to find Super Mario Bros on this site, I did find Tetris and Tecmo Super Bowl, as well as some of my other favorites, including Pac-Man, Frogger, Baseball Stars, and Pong – the 1972 arcade game that was one of the first of its kind. In case you’re interested in checking this out or even playing some of these games yourself, I’ll provide the link to the site at the bottom of this post.

For now, in honor of today’s start of the 2022 NFL season, I thought it I would take this opportunity to provide a recap of my experience with Tecmo Super Bowl. (I also plan to post a recap of my experience with some of these other Nintendo games in a future post.) Tecmo Super Bowl was a game that was originally launched on Nintendo in 1991, and features NFL gameplay using actual 1991 NFL rosters. After having played this game in the 90s, taking a break from it for more than 20 years, and re-discovering it last year, I’d like to document my some of my more recent gameplay accomplishments here.

Games

Wordle: 100 Day Update

May 1, 2022
by Ryan

Today marks the 100^th day since I first tried Wordle. Shortly after I started playing it, I posted some initial thoughts about it on this blog. So, if you are reading this and don’t yet know what Wordle is – first of all, where have you been all year? Secondly, you can learn more about what it is, as well as some of my initial thoughts on the game, on my original Wordle post here.

The five-letter word-solving puzzle, originally invented last year by creator Josh Wardle, has exploded in popularity ever since millions of people discovered it sometime around January. At least that’s when I first found out about it. Although there have been 316 daily Wordle puzzles in its history so far, for me personally, there have been 100. As such, I thought the 100-day mark would be a good milestone for me to share some updates and additional thoughts on Wordle (with the understanding that I don’t promise to do this every 100 days). I will also share some additional Wordle parodies that I have played, with some thoughts on those as well.

Games

Wordle

February 5, 2022February 5, 2022
by Ryan

It’s been a month since I have posted on this blog. If you’ve been clamoring for new content on a regular basis and wondering why it’s taken me so long…maybe it’s because I discovered Wordle.

Since Wordle has exploded in popularity over the past month, it’s probably common knowledge by now what it is. But just in case you haven’t found out about it yet (or you’ve seen it but haven’t taken the time to investigate it yet, or you’re still stubbornly holding out), I’ll give you the scoop here. I’ll also provide some information on some other puzzles you can try as well.

Games

Ryanball

June 13, 2021
by Ryan

Many years ago, I invented a game called Ryanball. The idea was inspired by the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, in which Calvin invents his own game and calls it Calvinball. Unlike Calvinball, however, which centered around making up the rules as you go, I did come up with a pre-determined set of rules. But Calvinball at least inspired me to name a game I invented after myself.

Ryanball is an outdoor game that is ideal for hot summer days, to be played by people who don’t mind getting slightly wet to help cool them off from the sun. The game is well-suited for a large group of kids to run around and stay active, but can be played by anyone of any age. Now that we are in the summer months and now that groups of people are starting to actually gather together again (hopefully safely), I thought this might be a good time to introduce this game to any readers who may be looking for a fun active outdoor game. To my knowledge, Ryanball has not been played in quite some time, and since this game is largely unknown and needs to be passed down for generations, I thought I would use this opportunity to bring it back.

Category: <span>Games</span>

Wordle: One Year Update

Tecmo Super Bowl

Wordle: 100 Day Update

Wordle

Ryanball