In an effort to kill time, I started doing the New York Times’s mini crossword. Every day, I had to do the crossword, or else it would be a day wasted.
This hobby began over winter break when I came home to a stack of old magazines. I sped through their crosswords in less than a week. Soon, I began to eagerly wait for the next magazine to come in the mail so I could speed through the puzzle.
When I discovered I had a free New York Times subscription through my college, I became a fiend for the crossword.
I started to really hone my craft, taking less than a minute to solve the mini. I came to love hearing the little chime every time the puzzle is solved.
When I went back to college, I had to adapt my routine. I began picking up the campus paper and attempting to solve the crossword while on my way to class.
My love for puzzles has since expanded beyond crosswords.
After getting into the habit of solving the New York Times’s mini, I moved on to the rest of its variety of games. Connections became my next obsession. Every day, my friend and I would text each other our results.
Tiles is also a fun game to play while doing something else. The best way to describe it is like memory for adults. It is so much fun trying to get a perfect score.
I recently visited a friend at another college. While there, she joined me to solve the daily puzzle. Eventually, her friends began trickling in. Before I knew it, there were seven of us surrounding the air mattress, all bickering over what we thought the right answer was.
Overall, the crossword is a classic for a reason: it’s fun, simple, and timeless. If you haven’t already, you should give it a chance!
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