The New York Times began to digitize and create fun games for people to play daily. Their most popular games include; Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee, Mini Crossword and Letter Boxed. Playing games like these have also been proven to increase players’ spelling, vocabulary and cognitive skills. Personally, I have been playing Wordle, Mini Crossword and Connections daily. I also ventured out to try the other free games the NYT has to offer. Below is my final ranking on the best to worst NYT games with explanations.
Mini Crossword, this game provides many challenging hints that are supposed to lead to a word between three and five letters, but in the end they all connect forming a 5X5 box. The game tests vocabulary and general knowledge in order to complete the puzzle in the fastest time possible.
Connections, this is a game where there are 16 different words, and they have to be connected into four groups. There are only four attempts at getting all of the words into the correct categories. Sometimes the categories are easy to guess, but other times it can be extremely difficult. This game overall tests cognitive thinking skills and is super fun to play with friends.
Wordle, this game is what started my obsession with the NYT. Wordle is a game where a new five letter word is picked each day and has to be guessed by the player in six guesses. When the letter is grey it’s not in the word, when it’s yellow it’s in the word but in the wrong spot, and if the letters all turn green the word was guessed! This game has definitely improved my vocabulary and tested my analytic abilities.
Letter Boxed is a game where 12 letters are given on the outside of a box (three letters on each side). Each day players must string letters from one side to another using up all 12 letters in the least amount of words possible. Personally, this game isn’t my favorite and I do not play it everyday, but overall it tests players’ vocabulary and rational skills.
Spelling Bee, this is a game where you are given seven letters; however, one is highlighted yellow and must be used in all of the words. The goal is to create as many words as possible from those seven letters, truly testing spelling, and language.
