Why Hint Button Is Optional and This Is Exactly the Right Choice

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There is one particular feature of wordleunlimited.dev that does not come into mind of people rarely, but which makes me play this game again and again. Hint button is an optional one. Actually, it is turned off by default, and in order to activate it, you need to go to the Settings page and turn it on there. Although this seems quite boring, this feature demonstrates respect of the developers to their users, as they did not force this feature and did not make you unlock it.
Why Optional Hints Are Better Than Forced OnesForced hints destroy everything. In case the game starts to ask you if you want to have hints after a certain period of time, the impression appears that you cannot play the game yourself. Hidden behind achievements or in-app purchases, hints become not the feature anymore, but the way to earn money. Unlike many other games, the feature that makes Wordle Unlimited different is that the users are considered as adults and are free to decide whether they want hints or not. In case you get stuck trying to guess a seven-letter word, use the hint – reveal one letter and continue to play. In case you play the easy 5-letter version of the game and do not need any hints, you can keep the hint button turned off and this button will not appear on your screen. This is a great example of how the users should be treated in game design, and how rare it is.
The Hint Setting Is Where It Should BeAnother pleasant detail about the game is that the toggle for the hint button is located in the Settings menu and not in the main one, thus disturbing the experience. The hint button does not appear when you launch the game – the board is clean, there is only a keyboard and letters on it. In order to turn the hint button on, you need to open the Settings manually and activate the option "Show the hint button while playing". The default experience of the game is the original Wordle experience – there is nothing that can distract you from the game and no shortcuts at all. However, if you need hints, you can find the option in the Settings menu with just several clicks without any pop-ups or tutorials popping up right in front of your eyes.
Two Hints Per Game Is the Correct NumberThe next brilliant decision made by the developers is the number of hints. You get two hints per game if the hint feature is turned on, but not unlimited hints or just one hint. Two hints is the correct number, as it forces you to think about when and how you are going to use them. Are you going to use one hint on your first guess in order to exclude a certain category of letters? Or will you keep them for later in case you will be stuck with a difficult word during the fifth guess? It is the choice instead of the feature. With unlimited hints, you would just keep on pressing the hint button until you finish the game – and this would mean losing all the fun. With one single hint, the hints would appear too scarce. Two hints is a perfect calibration.
Different Users, Different Needs, Same GameOptional hints give an opportunity to play the game both to children learning to spell and adults who need a challenge. My niece plays the game with the hint feature turned on, as she still learns to play the game and needs some confidence boost once in a while. I, on the other hand, want to check my knowledge, so I prefer to play the game with the hint button turned off. However, my mother prefers to play with hints turned on, saying that "life is too short to stare at a grid for twenty minutes". The same game, three different players, three different approaches – no additional versions installed, nothing unlocked. The hint button is the magic button that can create different experiences within one and the same game.
Why All That Means More Than You ThinkOptional features say a lot about the attitude of the developer to the users. Tutorial hints, forced updates, pop-ups – all that proves that the developer thinks that the user has to be always guided. Optional feature and off-by-default setting is the expression of trust of the developers to the user – and this is a very rare thing. In this regard, Wordle Unlimited is remarkable in that it gives its users one more tiny form of trust. The hint button is far from being the main feature of the game, but it is there when you need it and it does not appear when you do not need it – and this is the exact correct approach.
ConclusionThe best design decisions are those which you cannot even notice until you compare them with the wrong alternative ones. Wordle Unlimited chose to keep the hint button optional and off-by-default, limited it to two hints per game if it is turned on – and all these decisions are votes of confidence in the user. If you have been playing the game without hints, try turning the hint button on and see how it brings one more layer of strategy into the puzzle game. If you have been using hints continuously, try playing one round without hints and see how it feels like. The choice is yours – and this, actually, is the philosophy of game design that I wish more developers would follow.