Sure, I'm not saying it was a dumb move at that price. Depends on how much staying-power the fad has, I guess.

Though when I first tried to find it a couple weeks ago, Wordle was not the top result for "Wordle". Result 3 or 4 IIRC. But I'd expect NYT can fix that.

Just because they could have easily cloned it doesn't mean it's dumb to reward (and be seen rewarding) the creator.

This is better PR than a media goliath ripping off the success of the little guy.