By Eva Siminiceanu

If you ever look at someone’s computer screen and see a grid of green and yellow letters, a small crossword, or a group of color-coded words, they are probably enjoying a New York Times game. Although they come from the same site, not all of these games are created equal. 

A Collegiate student playing a daily New York Times puzzle. Photo credit: Eva Siminiceanu.

There are nine games currently on the New York Times website: the crossword, the mini crossword (known as the Mini), Spelling Bee, Wordle, Connections, Letter Boxed, Tiles, Vertex, and Sudoku. For free, anyone can access the Mini, the first half of Spelling Bee, Wordle, Connections, one round of Letter Boxed, one round of Tiles, one round of Vertex, and Sudoku. If they want to unlock the full version of every game, along with the full crossword, they would have to subscribe to The New York Times for around $6.25 per month. Most of these games take about five minutes to complete, and they refresh every day to provide new puzzles. 

Vertex, which involves connecting dots to reveal an image, is the least appealing game. The repeated action of clicking dots and dragging lines to connect them gets dull very quickly. Additionally, non-paying users do not get new Vertex puzzles every day, leaving them stuck with the same three puzzles every time they want to play. When asked for her opinion on Vertex, Marissa Milton (’24), who is well-versed in other New York Times games, said, “I’ve never heard of it,” which I think sums up its irrelevance. 

Tied for the next spot are Tiles and Letter Boxed. Tiles involves finding matching elements of different tiles and slowly using those matches to clear out a board. While Tiles has many of the same problems as Vertex, like being monotonous and sluggish, I think that the action of clearing the board is much more satisfying than connecting dots. 

Many word-based New York Times games originated from the famous New York Times crossword. Photo credit: RHD-45 on Wikimedia Commons.

Letter Boxed, on the other hand, is more complicated. The player has to clear a set of letters around a box by making words with each letter, while not repeating letters and not using letters on the same side of the box. Lily Berger (’24), who plays Letter Boxed frequently, says, “I really like it, but it makes me sad because no one else plays it, so I can’t send my score to anyone.” She solved that day’s puzzle using three words and unfortunately had nobody to share that exquisite result with. I do not enjoy playing Letter Boxed, because it feels very complex, but maybe if more people played it there would be more incentive and appeal to it. As Berger says, “it’s all about the bragging rights.”

Spelling Bee is similar to Letter Boxed in the way that it relies on using a small set of letters to make words and get points, but it is more engaging. There is a center letter that must appear in every word, but other than that there are no constraints. Spelling Bee is very popular and even has a forum on the Times’ website for small hints and suggestions for the day’s puzzle, but, as far as I know, most Collegiate students do not include it in their daily routine. In fact, some even have negative feelings towards Spelling Bee. “It sucks,” according to Berger, and according to George Simonton (’24), it’s “way too hard.”

Next on the list is a game that is not unique to the New York Times: Sudoku. Madeline Lewis (’24) and Olivia D’Ambrosia (’24) play Sudoku on the New York Times website frequently. D’Ambrosia appreciates the different difficulty levels provided each day, saying that “easy mode is the best, because you can get it done quickly, while the harder modes take too long.” Lewis enjoys the challenge of the harder Sudoku levels, saying that she enjoys spending a long time on the more challenging levels. Simonton agreed, saying, “I like the challenge that the harder difficulties bring.” New York Times‘s Sudoku makes the game accessible and personalizable to everyone’s level. 

Two Collegiate students competing to finish a Wordle puzzle in a smaller amount of guesses. Photo credit: Eva Siminiceanu.

Third place for The New York Times games goes to the Mini. It is a short puzzle that is both easy to squeeze into your schedule and entertaining to think through. After playing the Mini for the first time, Jackson O’Keefe (’24) commented that, “It was fun, but it’s for a select group of people. I wouldn’t have gotten some of those without looking them up.” It’s entertaining to ask around when you’re stuck on a clue, and the small size of the puzzle allows you to progress even if you don’t recognize some of the prompts. O’Keefe also said that the short piano jingle celebrating his completion of the puzzle was very rewarding. The Mini also makes a The New York Times crossword accessible to those who don’t pay the subscription fee but still want to enjoy a small version of it each day. Additionally, the stopwatch that accompanies each round of the Mini allows for competition and comparison of times to other players, which adds the appeal of the game.

Second place goes to Wordle, which has slightly declined in popularity since its initial release in 2021 but still has a dedicated fanbase. Wordle involves trying to guess a five-letter word in up to six tries, which is a simple yet consistently entertaining game format. The competition and bragging rights associated with Wordle is a large part of its appeal, and it provides a quick and simple way for people to connect every day. It is easy to share results on social media, which has allowed Wordle to spread even further. Ben McLoughlin (’24) shares Wordle results with his family every day in a group chat, and Milton also enjoys competing with her family to see who can guess the word in the least amount of tries. Upper School English teacher and self-proclaimed “shabby Wordle-ist” Dr. Bart Thornton, however, hasn’t played Wordle much since its initial release. He says, “I played it for about month and got bored—it was formulaic, even though there’s a new word each day.” However, he admitted to never sharing results because he is not on social media, which could have detracted from his enjoyment.

The title of best The New York Times game goes to Connections, a new game in which players have to group words into categories such as “small imperfection” or “unit of bread.” Sarah Ward (’24) agrees that Connections is the best game, because she “learns new words every time I do it.” Lewis also says that Connections is her favorite. Connections is both quick and stimulating, and also lets people discover new words and categories that they might have never seen before. Additionally, Connections allows people to “exercise their mind daily and kick up those problem-solving and puzzle-solving skills” according to Alani Vargas on Yahoo, so it has long-term benefits as well.

Despite the fact that Connections is the superior game, some people have other opinions on New York Times games. Alexis Covington (’24), who has a New York Times subscription, says that the crossword is her favorite game. She says that “it’s worth the subscription, because it’s my favorite part of every day.” The New York Times crossword is the most famous crossword in the world, and its creator, Will Shortz, is considered a celebrity in the world of puzzles. Additionally, we must acknowledge Digits, a number-based game whose beta version was playable on the New York Times website a year ago but has since been deactivated. Digits was the highlight of my mornings last year, and I think it’s an injustice for games like Vertex to stay up while Digits had to be removed. Finally, some people, like Chloe Webb (’24), do not play New York Times games at all. When asked what her favorite game was, she said, “I don’t partake in those activities.” An unfortunate statement, but anyone willing to partake in these activities should definitely give Connections a try. 

Featured image credit: Wikimedia Commons user Haxorjoe.