<p>The New York Times-owned hit puzzle game Wordle is getting a few adjustments to its answer system and a new dedicated editor, Tracy Bennett. The Times announced the system change and Bennett’s appointment Nov. 7.</p> <p>Wordle now uses an answer list curated by the Times, and its pool of possible answers has shrunk to omit plural forms of three or four-letter words ending with “ES” or “S.” Words like MOLES or PANTS, for example, won’t ever be the right answers, but WOMEN or CACTI could still be correct. However, players can still use plural nouns like MOLES to see if any letters match up with the correct answer.</p> <p>Other than that, the gameplay remains the same. You get six chances to guess the word of the day, which is selected from the same dictionary as before with a focus on words that are “fun, accessible, lively and varied,” as stated by the Times. Moving forward, Wordle will be under the stewardship of Bennett, who was previously an associate editor for the Times crossword.</p> <p>Wordle is the creation of Welsh programmer Josh Wardle. Wardle originally made a prototype of the game back in 2013 and shelved it. He decided to complete the game during the pandemic with the help of his partner, Palak Shah. Shah curated the original 2,500 word answer list for the game. Wardle initially only shared the game with family and close friends, but when he unveiled it to the rest of the world in October 2021, Wordle became a viral hit that attracted millions players on a daily basis. On Jan. 31, the New York Times Company (which owns and publishes the New York Times) purchased Wordle for an undisclosed price “in the low-seven figures.”</p>