Have you ever sat in class and wondered how to pass your time because the lecture is just so uninteresting or boring to you? Or have you ever felt like doing anything else other than scrolling on Instagram or TikTok in your down time? If your answer was yes to any of these questions, then here is a solution for you: The New York Times mini games.
The New York Times hosts many popular mini games: the mini crossword puzzle, a Spelling Bee spelling game, Wordle, Connections, Letter Boxed, Tiles, Vertex, Sudoku and Strands. Here is an in-depth description of all of these fun and easy to play games.
In the Mini Crossword, players need to solve about 10 clues that test their general knowledge. Although some of the clues are random, it is a great way for players to test their trivia skills. It usually takes about a minute to complete, and it even plays a jingle when completed (make sure to mute your computer’s volume if you’re playing this game in class).
In Spelling Bee, players are challenged to create as many words as they can using the seven pre-selected letters given to them. The letter that is in the center of the pre-selected letters has to be included in each of the words players construct.
Wordle is a word game in which players have six attempts to figure out a five letter word. If a letter in a word the player guessed has a green tile, then the player has placed the letter in the right place. If a letter in a word the player guessed has a yellow tile, then the player has found a letter that is in the word that they need to figure out but it is in the wrong place. If a letter in a word the player guessed has a gray tile, then that letter is not in the word that is the solution to the puzzle.
In Connections, the players’ goal is to create four groups of four words with the 16 words that are given. Each of the groups correspond to a theme, and these themes can range from straightforward themes that players can easily figure out like homophones to abstract themes that players have to think more about when grouping four words together like answers that go with the word beer. Players also only have four wrong guesses before they lose the entire game.
Tiles is a color and shape matching game in which players use patterned squares to create the longest sequence of tile pairings that have matching components. It’s satisfying to see components disappear from tiles as players match them, and it’s also exciting to see players create the longest possible sequence of tiles (which is around 40 tiles).
Letter Boxed is a word game in which players are shown a box with nine letters, three unique letters on each side and have to make different words using the letters. The catch to this is that letters on the same side of the box cannot be played consecutively, and the following word players create has to start with the last letter of the previous word they created. The goal is to use all the letters around the square, and the number of words that need to be created need to be within the number of words the limit the game establishes. For example, if the game says to try to solve in five words, then players should use all the letters around the box within five words.
In Vertex, players draw lines and connect dots to reveal an image. Although it can be hard to know which dots are connected to each other, it’s always fun to see what image would be produced once the dots are joined.
Sudoku is a game where the goal is to fill a 9-by-9 grid by systematically putting numbers from one to nine and ensuring that the numbers that have been placed are not used twice in a row or column. Additionally, the grid is split into nine 3-by-3 blocks, which also contains the numbers one through nine only once.
Strands is the newest addition to The New York Times’ collection of mini games. In this game, players find selected words that correspond to an unknown theme of the day within a mix of letters. If players find three words that do not correspond to the theme of the day, a hint can be used to help find one correct word.
The New York Times mini games are a great way to spend down time while requiring players to use their problem solving skills. Hopefully, The New York Times will continue more mini games with further avenues for players to use logical thinking.
