The New York
Times newspaper has been running the Sunday Crossword puzzle since 1942 and it
is known for its challenging clues. I’m not a big fan of crossword puzzles but
I logged on to the NYT Games webapp for the first time after they acquired Wordle! from its creator, Josh Wardle, in 2022.
Wordle! is just one of the games that
have added been to their Games apps recently.
You can play the NYT Games for free but to record and track statistics, you are required to subscribe ($50 per year). This subscription does not include access to the NYT newspaper articles and requires a subscription upgrade to access all of the NYT content.
The NYT Games App has several additional games, and they are frequently beta testing new games and adding features to existing ones. Currently, the NYT Games app includes the following games:
1.
I love the clues! The NYT crossword puzzle has always been
known for its ingenious clues. The clues are consistently tricky and once you
figure them out, they make sense. All of the word games in the app follow this
high standard.
2.
I love the games! There are two new puzzles that my
husband and I do every morning with our coffee, Connections and Strands.
Both games are in line with NYT Games paradigm with tricky and clever clues.
Strands is currently in Beta, and I hope it becomes a standard game.
3.
I love the WordleBot! The
WordleBot was recently added and gives the option to see how your guesses compare to the
AI user (WordleBot) and other players guesses after you have completed the daily
puzzle. It scores your guess on Luck and Skill and gives averages
of other users to see how your guesses match up. Every day there are about a
million players so the results are interesting and fun if you are an
analytical person…which I am. Here is today’s
WordleBot analysis of the word FACET…
Let’s
Look at the App Itself
1.
Usability: The app is intuitive, flows well and
it’s easy to move from one game to another. If you have a subscription the app
saves your progress. If I log in on another device, I can resume the game where
I left off. I find its usability excellent: 5
Stars
2.
Design: The
webapp and mobile app have consistent features and look and feel. I can find features in the same location, and it
feels seamless if I use one app over the other. The overall design follows
the industry standard making it easy to navigate. For example, the menu is
accessible in the same location as you find it other apps, the top left-hand
corner. I find the overall design good: 4 Stars
3.
Features: The features follow the standard features for a game app as
well. Its features include basic tap to select letters, shuffle buttons and
submit/enter buttons. There is a feature that floats “Awesome” and other messages
when a correct guess it made. Other than the WordleBot, none of the features
stand out as innovative. I find the features good: 4 Stars
Other
Things I Would Like to See
1.
More about the daily games
and creators: There is a new crossword puzzle published every
day. The newspaper also posts a daily column about the puzzle that gives insight into the theme
and the puzzle creator. It would be fun to see something similar for
the other games.
2.
Sounds and Score
Features: There are
a few games in the app that keep score while you are playing. Currently, the
app is mostly silent and is unceremonious about great guesses. Like I
mentioned in the features section, some games have a popup message when you make a
good guess but it’s hard to see how many points you earned because the score
automatically increases immediately. I would like to see the popup stay up
longer with the addition of the number of points and familiar casino or counter
sounds as the points are added one-by-one to the score. I don’t know about you, but I find it satisfying to hear and watch my points increase when I’ve made a
good guess. I’d like to see something like the orange box below.
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