The New York Times is a reputable news source that began creating games for its subscribers in 1942 with the original daily crossword. Later, with the creation of the New York Times website, more games got added, like the Mini Crossword, Spelling Bee, and Connections.
One of the most popular games on the New York Times website is Wordle, a game in which players aim to guess a 5 letter word in 6 guesses. Created in 2021 by Josh Wardle, Wordle was actually not an original creation by the newspaper, but was rather acquired by the paper in 2022 after its popularity during the pandemic. This acquisition is what made many people begin to play other New York Times games, according to junior Wren Walton.
“I started playing the other New York Times games after the wordle moved over,” Walton said. “The Crossword is definitely my favorite because I can play it with my dad,”
Recently, the New York Times added a new game to their lineup, Pips. The game was briefly tested in Canada and soon released to the public. What sets Pips apart from the other games available is that it is not a word game, rather a strategy game where players arrange dominos to accord with various rules. This game is currently the only game, besides sudoku, that has no relation to words or letters at all. This veering away from strictly wordplay-based games could be seen as a strategy to cater to a larger audience, according to Stacey Benson.
“I love Pips and math puzzles, so I think it’s great that they have diversifying the challenges so that a wide variety of people can gain interest,” Benson said. “I subscribe to the New York Times games and play the Strands, Connections, and Mini Crossword every night before bed.”
Although games like the Wordle, Connections, and Pips are free to play to anyone, there is subscription for New York Times Games, separate from the general New York Times News subscription, meaning that one has to pay a separate fee of $4 dollars a month in order to have full access to all their games. Up until recently, August 27, the Mini Crossword was free to play, but is now hidden behind the paywall of the subscription. This angered many players who enjoyed playing the Mini for free, according to sophomore Leela Farrell.
“I’m so annoyed that you need a subscription to play the Mini now, I used to play it daily,” Farrell said. “The Connections is my favorite game to play, so I hope that stays free to play.”
The New York Times’ expansion into games, word based and otherwise, shows how newspapers are becoming more than just sources of information and are branching out into new areas. This is made easier by the online element of these games, since one can play from anywhere as long as they have their phone, and no pen or paper is required. This rebrand is welcomed by players however, and they are excited to see what the New York Times has in store next, according to Walton.
\“I have enjoyed all the new games they’ve added, they add a lot of variation,” Walton said. “I’m looking forward to the future games and updates that they might add.”
