As one of the most popular news sites in the United States, The New York Times is well known not only for its daily coverage of global topics but also for its well-loved selection of games. From the classic New York Times Crossword to modern games, like Wordle, there is no shortage of brain teasers to play. This leads to the ultimate question: What is the best New York Times game, and what places one game over another?
When trying to decide my favorite game, I narrowed it down to three options: the Crossword, Sudoku, and Connections, as well as a game that The New York Times no longer offers: Digits. My initial thoughts went to the classic crossword puzzle. Starting with a moderate crossword on Monday and ending with a difficult one on Saturday, followed by a larger Wednesday-level puzzle on Sunday, the difficulty progressively increases throughout the week. I appreciated the variety of skill levels and the relevance of the crossword clues, but my two main issues were that the crossword is only accessible to the New York Times’ paying subscribers and, despite the supposed ease of Monday puzzles, they are still incredibly hard to solve.
After the crossword, I evaluated Sudoku, for which the New York Times offers easy, medium, and hard puzzles daily. However, although Sudoku is a fun choice, it’s just not unique—there are so many different Sudoku sites that the New York Times version lacks the feeling of originality.
My third honorable mention was Digits, which was available on the website from April 10 to August 8 in 2023. As someone who has always had a fascination with numbers, this game, which had users manipulate six numbers through basic arithmetic operations to reach the given final number, was a perfect daily mental exercise. Unfortunately, whether due to difficulty or unpopularity, the game was discontinued and therefore could not be my final choice for the best New York Times game.
After much thought and deliberation, I picked the game that ultimately appealed to me more than the rest: Connections. Connections is a newer game, having only been offered since June 12, 2023. Each day, there are sixteen terms on a board that can fall into four general categories. Like the other games, these terms are grouped by difficulty level in different colors; in other words, some of the groups are easier to put together, and the other connections are more difficult to find. Although part of my fascination with Connections could be its relative novelty, I believe that my general enjoyment of the game comes from its unique nature and playfulness with words.
In the majority of the Connections puzzles that I have solved, most of the words could fit in some of the other groups; however, finding the perfect combination of four groups of four is always a fun challenge. The game encourages players to think of how to use words in different ways than they might usually. Some days, I find myself perplexed and end the game with a new understanding of a word. Despite the number of word puzzles that exist, I have never played one remotely similar to Connections. The educational, challenging, and unique nature of the game makes it stand out compared to the other New York Times games.
Whenever you have some spare time, be sure to check out the New York Times to find a new favorite activity. There are many great options to choose from, but if you’re someone who likes wordplay and mental exercise, Connections could be the game for you.
