Arts Vanity: A Screenager’s Guide to the NYT Games

In a valiant effort to reduce my screen time this summer, I deleted TikTok and Snapchat and imposed a strict 30-minute limit on Instagram. Although my social media time has been vastly cut down, I was surprised to observe after a few months that my screen time was still remarkably high. Clearly, some other apps were doing the good work of picking up the slack. Investigating further, I looked into the individual breakdowns.

Messages, unsurprisingly, was my most-used app. All my friends know that I’m a certified Messages fiend. Case in point: when my friend sent me a downloadable link that compiled a “Messages wrapped” à la Spotify’s yearly music summary, it was revealed that I had sent an appalling 157,988 messages in 2024. My most active group chat, in fact, was with outgoing Arts Chairs Allison S. Park and Anna Moiseieva, where I sent 1,296 messages — hours spent planning Arts socials, to be sure.

But that’s besides the point. In second place, racking up an incredible 7 hours and 29 minutes just last week, was NYT Games. On Tuesday alone, I spent 1 hour and 50 minutes on the app.

As a washed-up EAL pondering what I could possibly yap about for my third and final vanity, I thought, why not share my hours of service with others? For every moment that I’ve puzzled over an esoteric crossword clue (wtf is an olio???), rolled my eyes over a niche Connections category that I had no hope of guessing, raced to complete the Mini in under 30 seconds, or screamed in exasperation over the Strands theme that can hardly be called a theme and more a vague suggestion designed to mislead, I had accumulated solving strategies, my own quirks of gameplay, and, of course, plenty of opinions. Read on for my tips, tricks, and thoughts on some of my favorite New York Times Games:

The Crossword

It’s classic. It’s iconic. It’s your favorite NYT Game. While I’m pretty sure The Crossword requires a subscription to the Games app, it’s sooooo worth it. I don’t even need to explain the premise of it because you already know: It’s a crossword puzzle!

But it’s not just words and clues; the crosswords increase in difficulty each week, with Monday being the easiest and Saturday the hardest. Sunday is midweek difficulty — it’s just bigger. Sunday through Thursday crosswords always feature a fun theme — it’s usually quite clever, often utilizes double meanings and makes the puzzle all the more enjoyable when you figure it out. There’s also a cute little tune that plays when you solve it. What more could you want?

To get comfortable with the types of clues and words you’ll see — which are so hyper-specific to the game, there’s a word for it — I recommend solving past crossword puzzles for practice. Start with Mondays, and more recent crosswords first, since the hints are often topical. The crossword archive is huge, although be wary of going through it too quickly. Don’t be like me and attempt all of the Mondays going back to 2015 when you’re still bad at solving crosswords, because then you don’t get to do them later, and you’ll have an abysmal solve rate (45%!!!! Embarrassing af). With enthusiasm, persistence, and perhaps a little self-restraint, you’ll be off solving Thursdays in no time.

The Mini

Don’t want to spend the time or money on the actual crossword? Enjoy a bite-sized version with The Mini! This adorably miniature crossword is a 5x5 (or 7x7 on Sundays) themeless version of the larger crossword puzzle. Because The Mini is so small, speed is the crucial element in mastering this game.

Make sure you’re in a place where you can solve uninterrupted for a minute. If you don’t know a word at first, move on. You just want to fill in as much as possible as quickly as possible, because more letters will help you figure out the rest of the words. Also, try not to fill in a word unless you’re pretty sure it’s right… like 85% sure. If you fill the wrong word in, you can get really thrown off, and lose precious seconds.

The Mini also has a leaderboard feature, which you should absolutely add your friends to so you can #flex. In all seriousness, The Mini is an enjoyable, accessible alternative to the classic crossword that’s a great source of friendly competition.

Wordle

I honestly suck at the Wordle so I don’t have much advice to give here. It’s a pretty simple game — just try to guess the word of the day in six tries. Some people choose the same word every day, others like to be chaotic and switch it up. I’m boring so I start with the same word (SPARE). I will say that if you pick the same word every day, pick one that hasn’t been a Wordle word yet, so you still have a chance at getting it in one guess!

I’ve played this game on and off, and frankly the only thing that’s kept me on my Wordle grind is sending my daily solve to someone else and comparing my guesses with theirs. Maybe I’m just an innately competitive person, but, like with The Mini, part of this game’s fun is that friendly spirit of competition!

Connections

Although The Crossword will always have to be my favorite, Connections is a close second. It’s the game I look forward to solving most, trying to figure out how 16 random words could possibly be grouped into four groups of four categories. Part of the game’s charm comes from the categories themselves — they are frequently misleading, obscure, and sometimes just downright bizarre.

The game often likes to throw in one fake category as well, which can be hard to distinguish from the real ones at times. Sometimes, they try to be cute and stick a phrase in there too. I’ll never forget the Oct. 17 board, which had “park,” “car,” “Harvard,” and “yard” (not an actual category, of course). This puzzle is actually a prime example of the Connections quirkiness. There was the category of “movies with the ‘s’ removed” (“car,” “goodfella,” and “jaw” I knew, but “swinger”?), and “___ law” (shoutout HLS for the “Harvard” answer but “lemon”? What is “lemon law”?)

The Connections game also loves its homophones, and its categories that make you subtract or add letters. Some of its most horrific themes fall into this latter category: “Retail chains with a letter changed” (‘best boy,” “idea,” “kroner,” “stables” on Oct. 30), or “Ending with greek letters” (“biota,” “feta,” “mochi,” “pepsi” on Sept. 12). Or worse, they sometimes have the dreaded sports team category — know your target audience, New York Times! Do you really think that I, a Harvard Physics concentrator, will know random MLB teams?

Yet, I can’t help but adore Connections’s goofy words and silly themes. It’s a diabolical little game, but it's my diabolical little game.

Strands

My feelings on this game fluctuate, usually from negative to extremely negative. Just kidding, but truthfully it’s a game that frequently frustrates. The goal is to find around six to eight words in a map of letters. The words are all related to each other by a theme word, called the “spangram,” a hint to which is given in the Strands title. One would assume that this hint would illuminate rather than mystify. However, do not be fooled by the game’s false promises — the Strands themes are often the most perplexing part of my daily NYT Games experience.

The Strands titles typically employ puns and double meanings, and not in a fun way like the crossword clues. Other times, they’re just downright silly (“Yas Queen!” for a “Bohemian Rhapsody”-themed Strands? In hindsight, I see the vision, but at the time I was deeply confused. However, the Taylor Swift theme was great — although I fear for the middle-aged demographic of NYT Games players who were probably stumped).

In terms of tips, I always try to hit the words around the edges first, since those are easiest to spot. If you find words that aren’t in the theme, you also unlock hints. The hints are definitely a double-edged sword. If you use them, the game becomes super easy. However, I got bored with the game after solving with hints for a few weeks. Now, I try to solve without hints, which is harder but more rewarding. Comparing your results with a friend also creates more of an incentive to solve hintless!

Spelling Bee

If The Mini is a 100-meter dash, and The Crossword is a marathon, the Spelling Bee is a leisurely jog around the park. It’s not something you feel the need to do every day, but you’ll enjoy it no matter what, though it might make you sweat a little towards the end.

The Spelling Bee does not demand too much — it innocently presents you with the seven daily letters, fanning out in a honeycomb pattern, the chosen letter of the day in a yellow hexagon at its center. The aim is to spell as many words as possible, requiring that they include the yellow letter and be at least four letters long.

The only thing this game truly requires is patience. There is no time element, which is nice, and you can revisit the board as many times as you please. The first dozen or so words usually flow pretty easily, especially if it’s a day that includes I-N-G or E-D, letting you modify all your verb words. If you’re aiming to get Genius — the highest rank, only unlocked when you get a majority of the words — I recommend trying to spell a word that starts with every single letter on the board, going alphabetically. It sounds obvious but it really helps me think of more words when I’m stuck.

There is also the elusive Queen Bee rank, achieved only when you spell every possible word. If you’re struggling to get words, never fear! There’s a whole #Hivemind of spelling bee solvers who congregate on the game’s online forum, leaving helpful and creative hints for the more obscure words.

The New York Times Games have become a welcome companion to my day, a comforting constant in my routine. I look forward to a quick Monday solve or a hefty Thursday puzzle, the stimulating daily challenges that Wordle, Connections, and yes, even Strands can bring, or a Spelling Bee solve on a slower day when I have the time to stop and think.

The games also contain stores of information, delivering kernels of knowledge throughout my day via a clever crossword clue or a niche Connections category. Every day, I learn, and every day, I am challenged. These challenges are more fun when shared, and I love doing the Games with friends and sharing our victories. If you’re not an avid NYT Games fan already, I hope my vanity has shown you some of the humor and levity it can bring to your day, as it has to mine.

—Outgoing Editor-at-Large and certified NYT Games addict Arielle C. Frommer can be reached at arielle.frommer@thecrimson.com. Reach out to her if you want to be added to each other’s Mini leaderboard, if you want to rant about another obscure Connections category or obtuse Strands theme, or if you have fun tips and tricks of your own!