If you're a word game lover like we are, it's hard to beat the New York Times for awesome entertainment. From the super popular Wordle to the class daily crossword, there's an ideal game for everyone. If you're not sure which New York Times word game to try text, use our handy guide to help you pick.
The Crossword - For Anyone Who Loves a Challenge
Do you get a little extra kick out of something that's just the right level of difficulty? The ultimate in daily crossword puzzles, the New York Times Daily Crossword ups the challenge every day to help you build your skills. By the time you get to Sunday, it's definitely an accomplishment to finish that grid. There's also a Mini for when you need your crossword fix but don't have time for the whole puzzle.
If you're a challenge-lover, this is definitely the word game for you. But don't stress if you love crosswords but need a little help (we definitely do sometimes). Use Crossword Helper to access the puzzle (including the Mini), get help with the clues, and find answers when you're stuck.
If you're like us, you don't have a ton of time to sit and finish a crossword in one go (no matter how much help you get). The Mini is a good option here, but you can really pick up and put down the daily crossword too. An added bonus is that you can be multitasking and thinking about the answers while you're doing the school run or going for a walk.
Wordle - For People Who Like a Friendly Competition
Sure, you can play Wordle alone, but if you're like most of us, you're texting your score to your friends as soon as you finish. You have six chances to figure out a five-letter word; it's simple and fun. The great thing about Wordle is that it's fast and basically just invites a little bit of friendly competition. We like to play it while drinking our morning coffee.
Sometimes, though, the coffee just doesn't kick in fast enough or the Wordle puzzle is extra hard that day (some of them are really weird and tricky). When that happens, there's no shame in using a Wordle Solver to narrow down the answers. Just put in the letters you know and see what the possible answers might be. We won't tell your friends if you won't.
Connections - For Anyone Who Loves Wordplay
If you're into forming connections between words and playing with double meanings and homophones, New York Times Connections is your game. It's all about the ways words interact with each other. The game is made up of a grid of 16 words, which you can divide into four groups based on how the words are connected to each other. Just to make it even more fun, each category has a different difficulty level.
We all get stuck at this game sometimes — especially when we get a tricky category or group name. Don't worry if you're stumped, though. We use Connections Hints and Answers to get past those tricky categories or see what challenge level or group a word belongs in.
If you're someone who loves word games but actually hates games that are missing context for the words, go with options like Connections or the Crossword that play up the meaning and commonalities of the words (and not just the letters in them).
Letter Boxed - For Players Who Love Logic Puzzles
Remember those logic puzzles back in high school? Well, Letter Boxed is a great combination of a logic puzzle and a word game. You get 12 letters in the shape of a square, and you have to connect the letters to form words. That's where it gets tricky, though. Once you've made your first word, you need to use the last letter of that word to start your next word. You keep going that way until you've used every letter in the box.
There are some tricks to playing and winning Letter Boxed. You have to think pretty carefully about what you pick for your first word (that's why this is a good game for people who like logic puzzles). If you're stuck, don't stress. You can use WordFinder to get lists of words that start with or end with a certain letter.
Spelling Bee - For People Who Are All About Word Searches
If you're the person everyone asks when they don't know how to spell something, Spelling Bee is the game for you. Think of it as a word search in honeycomb form. There's a central letter with six letters surrounding it. To play, you need to make words that are at least four letters long and include the letter in the middle. You get the most points for long words.
For even more fun and competition, you can level up in status based on how many words you find and how many letters are in those words. The very top ranking is "Queen Bee," although there's plenty of respect in earning "Genius" status, too. Worried you won't make it quite that high? You can get help or check your work by looking at Spelling Bee Answers.
Try New Games to See if You're a Champion
Playing word games from the New York Times is one of our favorite ways to keep sharp and pass the time when we have a few spare minutes. There are so many cool games to choose from, and there's at least one for every type of player. Try a new one to see if you just might be a champion.
