Spotify has bought Heardle, here's what it means for the music trivia game

For now, the new version of the game is unavailable for players in the UAE

Heardle is a guessing game in which players listen to the opening seconds of a pop song. Photo: Reuters

Spotify has bought Heardle, a music recognition trivia game that follows the format of Wordle, for an undisclosed amount.

However, UAE users cannot play the game as the new version is currently unavailable. Players who visit the website are greeted with a message that reads: "Heardle isn't available in your location".

At present, the new version of the music guessing game is only available to users in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with plans to expand around the world.

The new venture also pushes the music streaming platform further into its pursuit to make its app more interactive, as it invests in video, live streaming and podcasts.

"We are always looking for innovative and playful ways to enhance music discovery and help artists reach new fans,” said Jeremy Erlich, global head of music at Spotify.

“Heardle has proven to be a really fun way to connect millions of fans with songs they know and love and with new songs ... and a way to compete with their friends as to who has the best musical knowledge. Since its debut, the game has quickly built a loyal following, and it aligns with our plans to deepen interactivity across the Spotify ecosystem.”

Despite the merger, other aspects of the game will stay the same — Heardle will be available on its website and can be played for free. The only change is that now players can listen to the full song on Spotify after finishing a game.

Heardle is a guessing game in which players listen to the opening seconds of a pop song. Photo: Heardle

What is Heardle?

Heardle.app is a guessing game in which, instead of trying to decipher a five-letter word, players listen to the opening seconds of a pop song, and try to figure out its title and artist. “Each Heardle is randomly plucked from a list of the most-streamed songs in the past decade,” says the site.

The musical game takes a cue from Wordle, which offers six guesses to try to work out the daily puzzle, but Heardle has several unique elements. Incorrect guesses unlock more of the song to give you a better chance of solving it, for example. You also have the option to skip guesses and listen to more of the song.

Nine word games similar to Wordle to play — in pictures:

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  'Hello Wordl' is a remake of 'Wordle' and is played in the same way, except you can do it more than once and change the length of the words.

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  'Absurdle' is the 'adversarial variant' of 'Wordle'.

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  'Letterle' is a mischievous spoof game that makes players guess a single letter each day.

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  'Letterpress' is an unlimited, free game where you unscramble tiles to spell words against friends and random opponents.

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  'Word Forward' features a 5x5 grid of letter combinations that you can use to make words.

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  'Kitty Letter' is from the makers of 'Exploding Kittens'.

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  'SpellTower' is like 'Tetris' meets 'Boggle'.

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  'TypeShift' allows players to spell words using sliding letters in columns.

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  'Word Master' is strikingly similar to 'Wordle' except you can play more than one a day.

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  'Wordle' has gone viral and amassed hundreds of thousands of players in a few months. AFP