The New York Times' new Wordle editor is making a significant change to the game

Those of you who have wondered if Wordle got harder at certain points in the past — especially after the New York Times acquired the daily word-guessing game — weren’t necessarily correct.

But now that Wordle has its own dedicated editor, as the Times announced this week, there’s one significant change being made that you should know about, since it’ll affect how you make guesses.

“Wordle’s gameplay will stay the same, and answers will be drawn from the same basic dictionary of answer words, with some editorial adjustments to ensure that the game stays focused on vocabulary that’s fun, accessible, lively and varied,” the Times’ Everdeen Mason wrote.

Here’s the significant part:

The answer list will consist of five-letter words that fit those criteria, with the exception of plural forms of three- or four-letter words that end in “ES” or “S.” That is, the answer will never be FOXES or SPOTS, but it might be GEESE or FUNGI. As the game is currently designed, FOXES or SPOTS can be used as a guess word to help narrow down the answer, but FOXES or SPOTS will not be the answer.

So take note: Maybe don’t guess words with S or ES at the end going forward.

Hey Wordlers, it’s worth noting:
The answer list will consist of five-letter words, with the exception of plural forms of three- or four-letter words that end in “ES” or “S.” That is, the answer will never be FOXES or SPOTS, but it might be GEESE or FUNGI. #Wordle

— Jeff Yorkes (@JeffYorkes) November 7, 2022