Every night, before I go to bed, I open up the New York Times Games website like clockwork. Playing these simple games provides a transition from the chaos of school to the peaceful bliss of sleep. Not all games are made equal, though. Here are my biased rankings of the NYT Games!
1. The Mini Crossword
As Goldilocks would say, this game is “just right!” Don’t be fooled by the small grids; the Mini definitely requires some out-of-the-box thinking. The clues are always really creative, and there are always new arrangements to keep you at the top of your game. I won’t lie, sometimes I do cheat with Autocheck…
2. Pips
I’m not sure if it’s just because this is a shiny new thing, but I really got hooked on Pips. It definitely appealed to my proclivity for numbers, and it is sooo satisfying placing the dominos in the right spot.
3. Sudoku
I ranked this a little lower than the other games only because the difficulty level on one day can be totally different than on another. I like the new updates they made where the placements are highlighted when you click on a number.
4. Wordle
The most dependable game ever!!! I remember playing it every morning before English in 8th grade. Wordle has a simple concept, but I’m always surprised at what words the makers come up with. Also, I love seeing what peoples’ starting words are, shoutout to the guy from Berkeley with the same one as me! #AdieuOnTop 🤘🤘
5. Connections
I used to be so cracked, but I think I’m on the decline now…If the clues are all old famous people, then I lowkey just give up because I have no clue who they are. However, when I do solve the entire puzzle, it gives me an ego boost like no other.
6. Strands
Similar to sudoku, the difficulty level of this game fluctuates. Sometimes the clues are so vague, I need to use 3+ hints to actually figure out what the theme is. You definitely need to be well-versed in the English language for this game sometimes.
7. Letter Box/Spelling Bee
These two are lumped together because of their similar concepts: to spell words. I’m not really sure how Spelling Bee works to be honest, but I also typically avoid spelling games (don’t send me GamePigeon). I like Letter Box slightly better because I understand how to win, Spelling Bee not so much…
8. Tiles
Ugh, I used to love this game so much but now I rarely ever play. After playing the game for a while, I realized the puzzles are reused, so I already knew how to solve them 🙁