There’s a Wordle for tube stations called Tuble

Remember the time when everyone tried to add a bit of backbone into their flabby, structureless days with a daily dose of Wordle? Remember the smug posts of green and yellow squares on social media? The howls of outrage when the correct answers were the (gasp) American spellings of ‘humor’ and ‘favor’? Well, it’s time to revisit those heady days with a newly Anglo-centric, and indeed London-centric, variant called Tuble.

Joining existing popular variants including Heardle, Worldle, Quordle and even Lewdle (you can guess), this new game takes its inspiration from the mighty London Underground. The concept is simple, but the playing of it is monstrously difficult. Basically, you have six guesses to identify a tube station. After each guess, you find out how many stops and how many zones you are away from the correct answer. 

‘That sounds like a doddle’, I hear you scoff. But alas, no, it really isn’t, however great a transport nut you might consider yourself. Nay, even if you were born on the platform at Goodge Street, swaddled in patterned Northern Line moquette, and then suckled on commuters’ sweat like it was mother’s milk, I promise you this game is anything but easy.

For a start, the tube network is full of weird bits no one ever thinks of: not the obvious outliers like Cockfosters, but esoteric stops like Fairlop or Pinner. And even if you’re in familiar territory, there are endless directions you could head in with each move. It’s enough to make the steeliest and most sharp-elbowed commuter weep.

Still, if you get good at it, the rewards are great. We’ve heard a rumour that a 30-day winning streak will land you the most coveted piece of plastic since the Nando’s Black Card: a golden Oyster card, which gets you free underground travel for life. Did we also make up that rumour? Yes. But, transport gods, if you’re listening, it certainly would be a good way to reward and placate the tube’s most terrifyingly knowledgeable fans.  

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