This week, Wordle featured a different word for two groups of users Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. This week, Wordle featured a different word for two groups of users NYT cool. News by Tom Phillips Deputy Editor Updated on 16 Feb 2022 50 comments One of Wordle's joys is the fact everyone everywhere is guessing the same daily word. It keeps the game as a water-cooler (or passive agressive Twitter) discussion point, and ensures everyone's precious play streaks sit on the same level playing field. On Monday, however - Valentine's Day - Wordle's word for the day was different for the first time. Some Wordle players saw AROMA, but others had AGORA instead. Why the difference? The reason behind it is partly a quirk of how people play - but mainly because of Wordle's new owner, the New York Times. In a statement to ABC News, it admitted it had been fiddling around with the game's word list behind the scenes. Watch on YouTube Eurogamer Newscast: Bungie and Wordle bought. Simply put, AGORA was removed from the current New York Times Wordle word list for being too "obscure". (If you didn't know, an agora is a Greek market square.) Do you load up Wordle every day? Or do you simply have it open in a tab you refer back to when its latest puzzle arrives? This will likely answer which word you got. Those who got AGORA were people who had not manually refreshed the Wordle page, and so got Monday's word as it would have been. Those with AROMA instead were likely playing on a browser which had been refreshed more recently, with the New York Times' updated word list. We already knew that New York Times had removed some offensive words as potential puzzle guesses, but not that it was also choosing to trim down other unusual words. To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings ABC News reporter Michael Slezak posted a statement from the New York Times via Twitter, which stated: "We are updating the word list over time to remove obscure words to keep the puzzle accessible to more people, as well as insensitive or offensive words. AGORA is an example of an obscure word. "Solvers on the old word list can likely update to the new list by refreshing their browsers." Per Twitter user DJDellsperger, other potential answers removed by New York Times include "pupal", "lynch", "fibre", "slave" and "wench". Did New York Times look ahead to see Monday's answer was AGORA and decide it was too difficult - and then swap it for AROMA instead? Or was it simply chance that one of the removed words happened to come up as an answer this week? The publication has not said. Perhaps most importantly, if New York Times was removing obscure words, how did it still allow today's?! Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Overwatch 2 suffers another DDoS attack and character roster bugs Mei Mei. 7 Nintendo Switch firmware update lets you take screenshots in the Switch Online app The app on your console, not your phone. 7 Latest Articles Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Jelly Deals Logitech's G Pro X gaming headset is its lowest-ever price during Amazon's Early Access sale Prime Members can get it for just £52. Jelly Deals Save over £500 off the retail price on this beefy ASUS TUF Dash gaming laptop from Amazon Under £1080 for an RTX 3070 laptop. Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store