Pick your puzzle; Students share favorite New York Times games

By Maeve Rice

In every study hall, once students have caught up on homework, many then spend their time playing games, and the New York Times helps give them a more scholastic approach.

In a recent survey of 40 respondents, the most popular order to play the games is Wordle, Connections, Strands, Sudoku, Pips, The Mini, Tiles, Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed, and The Midi, coming in last.

Players ranked their favorite game to play, with 38% choosing Wordle, 15% for Strands, 13% for Pips, and Connections, 8% for Sudoku, 5% for The Spelling Bee and The Mini, 3% for Tiles and Letter Boxed. Senior Alli White said, “I like The Mini so much I bought the subscription to do the whole crossword.”

According to Daniel Larsen, one of the makers of the New York Times Crossword, said, “There’s this great community of people who want to share what they know.” He talked about how he joined the community of crossword constructors, and his advice to aspiring constructors is to engage with other people and try to learn from them.

“One time my friend was struggling with Connections, so I decided to help her, and I managed to get all the themes first try,” freshman Jennifer Reiser,

Some popular starting words for Wordle from players around the school include stare, adieu, or tear(s/y). Junior Molly Dornheggen said her starting word is audio and said, “I mainly only play Wordle, Connections, Strands, Pips, and Sudoku because those are free while others need a subscription.” The New York Times has made The Mini, The Midi, and the Crossword all unavailable unless subscribed to reach full access.

Sophomore Brock Hauck said his favorite game is the Crossword. “I play online Wednesday through Saturday and buy the paper to do Sunday’s Crossword the old-fashioned way,” Hauck added.

-MR-