As an avid Wordle fan, I was skeptical when I saw that the Guardian (which I've subscribed to for years) was out to "design the next Wordle". As noted, the designer of Wordle never expected his little game would go viral like it did. If there were a knowable formula to this kind of runaway success, it wouldn't be special anymore. But then again, I'm not a game designer, so what do I know :-)

(Also, a nitpick: You can, in some versions of Tetris, see more than one upcoming piece. Or none at all, for added challenge. I play and highly recommend Tetris Effect.)