By Kendyl Brower
The word game plague has struck the world, infecting people with a desire to Wordle. I too, fell victim to Wordle, the daily word game in which users try to guess a 5 letter word in under 6 guesses. Some creators even decided to make Quordles, 4 Wordles in one, or Taylordles, Taylor Swift-inspired Wordles. While I do appreciate the competitive nature of the game, the ability to send your friends your Wordle scores, and the ability to expand my vocabulary, I must stay loyal to my beloved New York Times Crossword, which is arguably the better word game.
Primarily, the daily crossword actually requires you to think. Wordles are mostly a guessing game with a touch of word structure knowledge; the crossword relies on critical thinking and riddle-solving skills. I’ll give it to Wordle: you must have an eclectic vocabulary to succeed. The Crossword, however, requires this skill in addition to understanding pop culture references, political and historical knowledge, puns, and language structure. So if you are looking for a real challenge, the NYT Crossword is clearly superior. But truly, anyone can play. Though the puzzle seems super intimidating, the difficulty increases every day of the week, making Mondays and Tuesdays very plausible for first-time solvers.
A complaint of many Wordle solvers is how short the game actually lasts: only one puzzle a day leaves users thirsting for more. This construction, however, may be to prevent addiction. Similarly, the NYT Crossword comes out daily—yet the actual playing time lasts much longer. The daily puzzle is a 15 by 15 grid Monday through Saturday and a 21 by 21 grid on Sundays, both of which can take anywhere from 15 to 40 minutes (my personal record is 8:13 on a Monday). However, if this is too long for users, players can complete the NYT Mini, which is usually a 5 by 5 grid that takes about a minute (my personal best is 12 seconds).
The only disadvantage of the NYT crossword is its price—a hefty $7.25 a month. However, word-game lovers can easily access other free crossword alternatives online or solve the free NYT daily mini. Furthermore, as the New York Times now owns Wordle, it is only a matter of time before it falls under a paywall as well. If you are an avid Wordle solver, I beg you to try the NYT crossword puzzle, even just the mini. The new facts, diction, and current events you learn every day are truly intriguing and the satisfaction of completing a grid is unmatched!