# Pears 396: FRUITFUL was the one to beat

> Slate's daily word game hits game 396, with a fresh puzzle at noon and the full archive now unlocked.
- Title: Pears 396: FRUITFUL was the one to beat · Slate Magazine
- Summary: Slate's daily word game hits game 396, with a fresh puzzle at noon and the full archive now unlocked. Pears drops a new puzzle every day at noon, and Slate…
- Keywords: word games, slate, puzzles, pears, daily games, 396, FRUITFUL, one, beat, Slate Magazine
- Source: Slate Magazine — https://slate.com/life/2026/09/word-game-slate-pears-396-for-september-14-2026.html?via=rss
- Published: 2026-09-14T16:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: word games, slate, puzzles, pears, daily games
## Game 396 is live
A new Pears puzzle lands every day at noon. Today's is number 396, so the streak is well past a year of daily word hunting.

> New Pears every day at noon!
## Yesterday's longest word
Game 395's longest possible answer was FRUITFUL, eight letters. That's the bar if you want to know how close you got.

> The longest word in Game 395 was FRUITFUL.
## The archive just opened
Slate Plus members can now play more than 300 past Pears games whenever they want, instead of waiting for the next daily drop.

> It's an all-you-can-eat Pears buffet!
## Suggest your own words
Players can email word suggestions to pears@slate.com. Recent picks that made it into the dictionary: INARTFUL and FRUTTI.

> Got a word to suggest? Let us know at pears@slate.com
## More puzzles next door
Pears sits alongside the Slate Crossword, the Mini Crossword, and SoundBites, all refreshed for September 14, 2026.
## Gifting needs a membership
Only Slate Plus members can gift stories, with 10 free articles a month to share. Free readers can still play the daily game.

> Only Slate Plus members can gift Slate stories.
## Key takeaway

Pears drops a new puzzle every day at noon, and Slate Plus members can now play the entire 300-plus game archive.