While The New York Times is typically known for its world-renowned news reporting, its game section has been rising in popularity. They have a large array of games such as Connections, Crossword, Letter Boxed, Spelling Bee, Sudoku, The Mini, Tiles, Vertex, and Wordle. The Mini game is a smaller version of the Crossword.
Wordle is a daily word game that has been around since October 2021. Wordle was originally a separate website, and on January 31, 2022, the New York Times bought Wordle. Wordle can be solved and played by using a series of process-of-elimination clues to solve the five-letter word. When you submit a five-letter word, the change of color of each letter will give you a clue. If the letter turns gray, that letter is not in the word. If the letter turns yellow, that letter is in the word, but in the incorrect spot, and if the letter turns green, that letter is in the word, and in the correct spot. There are six chances to get the five-letter word.
Connections is a puzzle that requires players to form groups of four that all share something in common. Connections was created on June 12, 2023. Every day there is a new Connections puzzle with 16 terms, and the player has to split the 16 terms into four categories. The player selects four terms and clicks “Submit” to check if their answer is correct. The object of the game is to find the four groups without making four mistakes.
“My favorite games are Connections and the Mini.” said Senior Tommy Troso.
The Mini is a typical crossword puzzle with fewer words to fill in. The game’s objective is to complete the crossword in the shortest amount of time. You do not need a subscription to play Mini, but you do for the Crossword puzzle.
While the games section is different from the news, does it encourage people to read the news?
Some students will only visit the games section of the NYT and think of it as a completely different entity from the news portion of NYT. Senior Alex Schiller said, “I only play the games. I don’t read the news.”
On the contrary, there are some students who use the NYT for both purposes. Senior Phoebe Abrahms said, “I play the games and I read the news.”
The New York Times website offers a wide range of games like Connections, Crossword, and Wordle. It’s a fun way to engage with the New York Times beyond just reading the news and it has gained prominence throughout the Hackley community.
