diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..42fc3d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+# Makefile for Cordle - C90 Wordle Game
+
+# Compiler and flags
+CC = gcc
+CFLAGS = -std=c90 -pedantic -Wpedantic -Wall -Wextra
+LDFLAGS = -lncurses
+
+# Directories
+SRC_DIR = src
+INCLUDE_DIR = include
+BUILD_DIR = build
+INSTALL_DIR = /usr/local
+
+# Source files
+SRCS = $(SRC_DIR)/main.c $(SRC_DIR)/game.c $(SRC_DIR)/ui.c $(SRC_DIR)/words.c
+OBJS = $(SRCS:$(SRC_DIR)/%.c=$(BUILD_DIR)/%.o)
+
+# Target executable
+TARGET = $(BUILD_DIR)/cordle
+
+# Default target
+all: $(TARGET) wordlists
+
+# Create build directory
+$(BUILD_DIR):
+	mkdir -p $(BUILD_DIR)
+
+# Compile source files to object files
+$(BUILD_DIR)/%.o: $(SRC_DIR)/%.c | $(BUILD_DIR)
+	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -I$(INCLUDE_DIR) -c $< -o $@
+
+# Link object files to create executable
+$(TARGET): $(OBJS)
+	$(CC) $(OBJS) $(LDFLAGS) -o $(TARGET)
+
+# Copy wordlists to build directory
+wordlists: $(TARGET)
+	cp -R wordlists $(BUILD_DIR)/
+
+# Clean build artifacts
+clean:
+	rm -rf $(BUILD_DIR)
+
+# Install the game
+install: all
+	install -d $(INSTALL_DIR)/bin
+	install -m 755 $(TARGET) $(INSTALL_DIR)/bin/cordle
+	install -d $(INSTALL_DIR)/share/cordle
+	cp -R wordlists $(INSTALL_DIR)/share/cordle/
+
+# Uninstall the game
+uninstall:
+	rm -f $(INSTALL_DIR)/bin/cordle
+	rm -rf $(INSTALL_DIR)/share/cordle
+
+# Rebuild everything
+rebuild: clean all
+
+# Help target
+help:
+	@echo "Cordle Makefile targets:"
+	@echo "  all       - Build the game (default)"
+	@echo "  clean     - Remove build artifacts"
+	@echo "  rebuild   - Clean and rebuild"
+	@echo "  install   - Install to $(INSTALL_DIR)"
+	@echo "  uninstall - Remove installed files"
+	@echo "  help      - Show this help message"
+
+.PHONY: all clean install uninstall rebuild wordlists help
diff --git a/src/ui.c b/src/ui.c
index 43332c1..9c95808 100644
--- a/src/ui.c
+++ b/src/ui.c
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ void draw_keyboard(WINDOW *win, GameState *game, int y) {
         x = (width - strlen(row) * 2 + 1) / 2;
         y_pos = y + row_idx;
 
-        /* Add indentation for keyboard layout */
+        /* Add indentation for the keyboard layout */
         if (row_idx == 1) {
             x += 1;
         } else if (row_idx == 2) {
diff --git a/src/words.c b/src/words.c
index 45faef7..c264ada 100644
--- a/src/words.c
+++ b/src/words.c
@@ -9,6 +9,35 @@
 #include <time.h>
 #include <ctype.h>
 
+/* Try to open a wordlist file, using multiple fallback locations */
+static FILE* open_wordlist(const char *filename) {
+    FILE *file;
+    char filepath[512];
+    const char *home;
+
+    /* Try 1: wordlists/ relative to the current directory (for development) */
+    sprintf(filepath, "wordlists/%s", filename);
+    file = fopen(filepath, "r");
+    if (file) return file;
+
+    /* Try 2: /usr/local/share/cordle/wordlists/ (system installation) */
+    sprintf(filepath, "/usr/local/share/cordle/wordlists/%s", filename);
+    file = fopen(filepath, "r");
+    if (file) return file;
+
+    /* Try 3: ${HOME}/.local/share/cordle/wordlists/ (user installation) */
+    home = getenv("HOME");
+    if (home) {
+        sprintf(filepath, "%s/.local/share/cordle/wordlists/%s", home, filename);
+        file = fopen(filepath, "r");
+        if (file) return file;
+    }
+
+    /* Try 4: filename as-is (custom path via --wordlist) */
+    file = fopen(filename, "r");
+    return file;
+}
+
 /* Convert string to uppercase */
 void to_upper(char *str) {
     int i;
@@ -17,24 +46,17 @@ void to_upper(char *str) {
     }
 }
 
-/* Load words from file */
+/* Load words from the file */
 int load_words(GameState *game, const char *filename) {
     FILE *file;
-    char filepath[MAX_FILENAME];
     char line[32];
     char word[WORD_LENGTH + 1];
     int len;
 
-    /* Construct file path */
-    sprintf(filepath, "wordlists/%s", filename);
-
-    file = fopen(filepath, "r");
+    /* Try to open the file */
+    file = open_wordlist(filename);
     if (!file) {
-        /* Try without wordlists/ prefix */
-        file = fopen(filename, "r");
-        if (!file) {
-            return 0;
-        }
+        return 0;
     }
 
     game->word_count = 0;