Wordle is getting a dedicated editor to curate its word list

Almost ten months after it acquired Josh Wardle’s free browser-based puzzler and cultural phenomenon Wordle for an undisclosed seven-figure sum, the New York Times has announced the game is finally getting a dedicated editor.

Since launch, Wordle’s puzzles have drawn from the same list of five-letter words – originally totalling 2,315, but now down by six – with a new solution being presented each day. Now, though, that list will be fully curated by Wordle’s new dedicated editor, Tracy Bennett.

“Wordle’s gameplay will stay the same,” the publication explains in its announcement, “and answers will be drawn from the same basic dictionary of answer words”. However, Bennett will be responsible for making “some editorial adjustments to ensure that the game stays focused on vocabulary that’s fun, accessible, lively and varied.”

Beyond that, it doesn’t sound like too much is changing; plural forms of three- or four-letter words ending in “es” or “s” will be excluded from the Times-curated answer list, and the significantly larger dictionary of English words used to validate guesses won’t be curated at all.

“What solvers choose to use as guess words is their private choice,” says the New York Times. “If your answer word is different from others’, play on the app or refresh your browser.”