Wordle just announced major changes — what you need to know

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Wordle gets a shakeup and its first editor

Wordle on iPhone
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Wordle is getting a major rules shakeup for the first time since the New York Times acquired it back in January 2022.

As first reported by Polygon, the New York Times announced in a blog post that rule changes are coming to the popular word game. These changes will affect both the pool of correct answers as well as what words can be used in guesses. The Times also announced the arrival of its first dedicated Wordle editor, who will oversee these changes. 

Wordle update: What changes are coming? 

Wordle #478

(Image credit: Alan Martin)

Tracy Bennet, a former associate puzzle editor for the New York Times, will now be in charge of curating the word list and testing Wordle. The first change coming — no more plural words. At least, there won’t be any solutions that are plural words ending in “es” or “s.” Plural worlds such as “Geese” or “Fungi” will still be potential solutions. However, you can still use these plural words as guesses to eliminate letters.

The other big change announced by the Times is that they will be curating the potential solution list going forward. Answers will still come from the same basic dictionary of words, but the Times will curate this list to ensure that the game is, “fun, accessible, lively and varied.” 

However, the dictionary of English words that are valid guesses will be uncurated and will be significantly larger than the potential solutions list. So be careful with your guesses and make sure to check out our guide on how to solve the daily Wordle answer. We also have guides on everything you need to know to play Wordle and a guide to the best Wordle start words.

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Malcolm McMillan
Malcolm McMillan
Streaming Editor

Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He's not one to shy away from a hot take, including that "John Wick" is one of the four greatest films ever made.