Intro
As a lover of language and generally bored person, I like finding things to do online that can let me have fun but still train my brain. So when I downloaded the New York Times Games app, I fell in love with this collection of unique mini-games.The best known of the New York Times games is it's Wordle, which, according to pcgamer.com, was purchased from the inventor, Josh Wardle, in January 2022. However, there are many other games developed by the NYT team themselves, from mini crosswords to connect-the-dots style games. In this post, I will rank all the free-to-play (excluding the full crossword) games in my opinion. If you want to try out any of these games, below I have a link to the NYT Games website.
The Rankings
Number 8: Sudoku
This game isn't badly designed, but it is woefully unoriginal. I don't really play this one, but I do know there are many other options for playing Sudoku, both online and offline.
Number 7: Vertex
This geometrical, multiple-lines connect-the-dots game creates beautiful designs, but has a few setbacks. The numbers that tell you how many lines can be extended from one dot don't really help with making the game strategic, which leads to every round being endless trial and error. In addition, you can only play one game a day without a subscription, so you would be better off downloading a similar paint by numbers app (or just getting a physical paint-by-numbers kit) for more satisfaction and playtime.
Number 6: Tiles
Tiles is a relaxing matching game where you try to delete all the patterns on various tiles by making combos between the same patterns. The designs of the tiles vary, but always have a beautiful aesthetic. While I could play this endlessly, I rate this game lower because it doesn't really seem like a game to me (and I may have had some anger-inducing experiences with breaking a perfect combo). Also, like Vertex, the number of plays is limited.
Number 5: Letter Boxed
Letter Boxed is a unique word-making game similar-ish to Spelling Bee, which we will get to later, where you must use up all the letters in as few words as possible, and you may also not use two letters in a row that are on the same side of the "box". This game has satisfying animations, and would probably be ranked higher if I played it more frequently. My only issue with this game is that the perfect solutions in one or two words are quite difficult, but then again, that could be part of the challenge. Below I have added a link to a Letter Boxed solver website.
https://letterboxed.aliceyliang.com/
Number 4: Spelling Bee
In Spelling Bee, you score points by making as many words four letters or more as you can using seven letters, with the centre letter being required to use. While this concept is simple, I just love how satisfying this game is, especially when you find the Panagram/s, which are the word/s that use all seven letters. I feel like my brain is getting boosted whenever I play, and the game is great for collaborating with friends to find all the words. However, without a free subscription you are only able to get up to a certain number of points before your play is stopped, which is still enough for my friends and I.
Number 3: Connections
The most recent addition to the Games roster is impressive, but has fallen slightly out of favour with me. In Connections, you must find the connection between four words in a category (a recent category example was "anagrams of numbers"), with four categories on a "game board". If you did the math right, that means there are sixteen words or phrases on each board, with lots of possible combinations! Things I love about this game are how the categories have different difficulty levels, and there is a helpful "one away" message whenever three out of the four words or phrases are part of one category, making this game more accessible for those not so adept at pattern-spotting. However, this means that if you do not have a good base of general knowledge or the abilities to spot some of these confusing categories, Connections can become more of a guessing game, which has happened to me many times.
Number 2: Wordle
Maybe Wordle is overrated, but it’s still incredible, with multiple spinoffs (such as Globle, a geography version which the link to is here https://globle-game.com) and a party game to its name. Despite the simple rules, this game requires actual skill to analyze the clues given by the letters and get the correct word. Playing this game makes me feel like a genius, although a short-lived one. I only wish the Wordlebot, which is a tool that analyzes your Wordle games, was available without a subscription.
Number 1: The Mini
I absolutely adore this game. It is like a crossword but smaller, faster, and with easier clues. It has the trivia that Connections has, but still the opportunity to figure out clues (or use autocheck/hints) if you do not know as much trivia. It has the wordiness that I love. If you have not before, please just try this game. It is amazing.
In conclusion
As far as online boredom busters go, the host of them that the New York Times has produced are among the best. Even the games that I rated lower have their own appeal, and I must admit my bias here as I don’t really play the games lower down the list as much. I hope that this article will encourage you to do something maybe a little more productive that scrolling on social media, and that you might develop a passion for Wordling as I have. Thanks for reading!
-Tomatobean
Source:
Image was from Webador's free stock images.
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