One of the great things about Wordle, a new word game that has gained worldwide popularity, is that it can only be played once each day, keeping the experience fresh. However, this is also one of the bad things about Wordle.

One solution is to play another word game while Wordle's timer counts down, but where to start? After all, there are about 70 billion word games on Google Play and the Apple App Store.

The problem is not necessarily with the games themselves (although there are some), but the fact that many are drowning in a murky sea of in-app purchases and advertising. I understand that developers need to be paid. But I would prefer to pay a flat fee for a game that I can enjoy without all that nonsense.

Anyway, there are some great Wordle alternatives out there that don't have ads or ruin the experience.

Take a little Wordl, mix in a little Jenga, and you get SpellTower, an addictive game by mobile gaming great Zach Gage (Flipflip Solitaire, Really Bad Chess, Ridiculous Fishing). It's a very simple game in which players trace their fingers across adjacent letter tiles to form words. However, strategy is required because the tower of letters collapses a little each time you pick out a word. How many words can you find? Will you be in the ranking of the day? It's up to you. - Henry T. Casey

Download SpellTower: Android / iOS

Almost certainly the only word game to make (virtual) cats explode, Kitty Letter is the Matthew Inman (aka The Oatmeal) It was born out of inspiration. If you've played his wonderful card game Exploding Kittens, you know what to expect.

The objective is to make as many words as possible from a given set of letters, and your opponent does the same. The twist is that your words will be carried by exploding kittens, gradually overwhelming your opponent's defenses as your words get longer. There is a one-player mode with free Oatmeal comics and an online multiplayer mode with friends and strangers. - Mark McLaren

Download Kitty Letter: Android / iOS

Half word game, half Risk-style strategy, Letterpress is deceptively simple, yet draws players in and makes them feel Half word game, half Risk-style strategy, Letterpress is deceptively simple, yet it pulls you in and keeps you hooked to the point of insanity. Playing online against a bot or another human being, the object is to dominate the 5x5 board as much as possible by using letters that are close to the opponent's choice of letters. The game rewards long words, so you'll need to make use of a dictionary to get the most out of the game. There are ads, but they are minimal and can be removed for $4.99. - Mark McLaren

Download LetterPress: Android / iOS

Before Wordle, the New York Times Spelling Bee was the main way for wordsmiths to show off their skills on Twitter. Each day, the Spelling Bee displayed a hexagon with six letters arranged around a single center letter. The game is played only once a day, but usually takes longer than Wordle. If you get stuck, finding the rest of the words is easy, thanks to the handy hints provided. If you guess all the words, you get a Queen Bee badge, which you can show off to your friends.

You can play for free up to a certain point, but to complete the game, you need a $39.95 annual subscription to all games (including the NY Times crossword). If you want to read the Times online, you must sign up for an annual $325 all-access subscription. - Mike Prospero

Play Spelling Bee online

Part of Wordle's appeal (at least to me) is that you can only play once a day. But if you want to play more regularly, Hello Wordl is essentially the exact same game, except that you can play it as many times as you want. You can also choose to solve puzzles with between four and eleven letters, instead of the five letters in the original game. In a way, it loses some of the charm of the real thing, but it's free and a great way to practice. - Marc McLaren

Play Hello Wordl online