If you’re anything like me, you HATE boring lectures where the professor just talks at you for 80 minutes straight. If that description fits you, I’ve got the perfect solution that might make your life slightly more bearable in those classes!
New York Times Minigames!
Here’s my top 5 ranking of the NYT games (including ones in BETA) and why!
5. Tiles
I recently got into this game, and honestly I only played it because I already played all of the other ones. I found it actually really interesting, and somewhat frustrating to accomplish since you want to keep the chain going as long as possible. It is most definitely not my favorite, but it makes me pay more attention to what I’m doing than just randomly guessing things. Tiles is definitely the middle child of the family. Forgotten but usually pretty interesting, depending on the puzzle.
4. The Mini [crossword]
This game is basically a remake of the OG game: The Crossword. It’s smaller and usually a bit easier which makes me happy. I’ll do the mini on occasion, but usually when I know I have the time to sit down and finish it without being interrupted since it is timed. Sometimes this puzzle has the stupidest hints and it frustrates me. The mini crossword is definitely the younger sibling that copies the older sibling (big crossword) but changes some personality traits up.
3. Wordle
I feel like this is the game that you think of when someone refers to the NYT games, and rightfully so. It’s the OG in my mind, even though this was not the first NYT game. This is the game that I start off my NYT games with, trying to figure out the five-letter word in the least amount of guesses. My starting word is almost always “STARE” but sometimes I change it up depending on my mood. Wordle gives me “mom of the group” vibes, a very safe option to start on.
2. Connections
This was easily my favorite game for a little bit of time considering how entertaining it is and how mind boggling some of the words are. Sometimes, things that definitely should be in the same category ARENT and that makes me genuinely want to rip my hair out, but I think that’s the entire point. I love this game because it challenges me to think outside the box and figure out what words fit categories that no normal human would ever think of. I’m convinced that the person who creates the connections genuinely has a thing out of us, but I admire the strength they have to figure out and create these categories. Connections is like a walking dad joke because it’s so stupid, but kinda clever… but you’ll never admit it.
1. Strands
Strands is a new game that was recently created and it has skyrocketed to the number one spot within days. In strands, you need to figure out the category (which is the spangram) based on a hint and then find words that fit that category. I still haven’t figured out a strategy for the game, but one thing is for sure: the game is addictive. I challenge myself further by not using any hints so sometimes the game will take me 15+ minutes. This game also tests my spelling abilities because I’ve gone crazy over a word not fitting the category when I’ve literally just been spelling it wrong. Easily my favorite game and I sincerely hope it becomes an actual game in the near future since it is so fun and entertaining. Strands is definitely the older sibling in the family or I guess the test subject that has so much potential!
My roommates and I love playing the games, comparing our scores and bragging about our accomplishments. We typically just play the Wordle, Strands and Connections, but those three alone can take upwards of 15 minutes. So the next time you’re bored in class, why don’t you just look up a NYT game and try it out!