REVIEW: From Wordle to Vertex: Finding the best New York Times minigame — CatlinSpeak (2024)

By Chip Downes-Le Guin ‘25

REVIEW: From Wordle to Vertex: Finding the best New York Times minigame — CatlinSpeak (1)

The New York Times (NYT) is well-known for its investigative journalism and quick releases of breaking news, however, students may be even more familiar with its daily minigames.

While puzzles like the Wordle or Mini crossword have given immense popularity to these short, daily games, many of you might not know that there are even more out there.

Although I don’t support playing games in class, the daily NYT minigames are an integral part of my daily routine whether I have class first period or not. Having played many of these games every day for multiple years, I feel prepared to play each game with a critical eye and rate them based on (1) entertainment, (2) difficulty, and (3) duration. This list seeks to shed light on the (maybe) under-utilized minigames and rank the NYT minigames from worst to first.

7) Vertex:

REVIEW: From Wordle to Vertex: Finding the best New York Times minigame — CatlinSpeak (2)

Entertainment: ★★☆☆☆

Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆

Duration: ≈3:20 minutes

Vertex is a simple connect-the-dots game where the player tries to create triangles eventually resulting in an image. Each dot has a number in it corresponding to how many different lines it will have to create triangles, with every correct triangle being immediately filled in. This means that any mistakes in triangle creation will have minimal consequences and be short-lived, leading to a low difficulty rating.

Vertex can be an entertaining way to numb your brain after a long day because of its minimal challenge but lacks replayability due to having essentially the same gameplay for each playthrough. If you are to play the Vertex multiple times in a row on a computer I feel sorry for you because the amount of clicking and dragging on your touchpad is cripplingly difficult for my pointer finger.

6) Tiles:

Entertainment: ★★☆☆☆

Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆

Duration: ≈2:40 minutes

The premise of Tiles is simple: match different parts of tiles to make the longest combo possible. Each tile looks similar with a couple of layers of defining patterns on each one which help you match them. By continuously matching tiles and working through every layer you can reach the coveted maximum combo of 45.

In addition to this overarching and somewhat difficult goal, Tiles also have different tile sets or palettes as they’re called at the NYT which gives the game a refreshing variety between rounds. Unfortunately, not all palettes are created equal, with the De Stijl-inspired board nonsensically being a way more difficult set than the rest.

REVIEW: From Wordle to Vertex: Finding the best New York Times minigame — CatlinSpeak (4)

Regrettably, Tiles is also held back by, like Vertex, requiring a lot of clicking, but a tougher goal and less repetitive gameplay are each factors that give Tiles a slight edge over Vertex for me.

5) Wordle:

REVIEW: From Wordle to Vertex: Finding the best New York Times minigame — CatlinSpeak (5)

Entertainment: ★★★☆☆

Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆

Duration: ≈1:30 minutes

The recent poster child of the NYT minigames, the Wordle was acquired by the NYT in 2022 and continues to be a fan-favorite to this day. Each day, players are given six guesses to find what the five-letter word of the day is. Letters in the correct place turn green, while letters still in the word but in the wrong place turn yellow.

With this simple format, the Wordle takes little time to complete, however when trying to guess the word in as few guesses as possible players may take some more time to strategize than I do. One of these strategies will include starting with a word with a lot of vowels like “Audio” or “Adieu”, but real Wordle nerds will know that MIT researchers found the optimal starting word to be “Salet”.

There was a time when Wordle had a chokehold on my family, who, like many other families, would send the results of our daily Wordle on a group chat, competing to see who could get the lowest score. For that, the Wordle will always have a special place in my heart but playing now whether you start with “Salet” or not, the puzzle itself is not very straining, and the community aspect that made it so fun has faded away.

4) Letter Boxed:

REVIEW: From Wordle to Vertex: Finding the best New York Times minigame — CatlinSpeak (6)

Entertainment: ★★★☆☆

Difficulty: ★★★★☆

Duration: ≈5:00 minutes

Letter Boxed challenges players to complete a box by spelling words that connect letters around the square. The game can be played simply as just finishing the box using any number which can be rewarding in itself, but attempting to do it in as few guesses as possible is where the truly difficult part begins.

Each day players are given a sort of “par” to reach - for example, “try to solve in five words” - a seemingly easy goal that for me who tries to complete games as fast as possible, makes me slow down and think more than other games on the list.

Far from simply reaching the par, many Letter Boxed connoisseurs will attempt to beat the game in two words - a number that is possible for every board but immensely difficult.

Letter Boxed can be frustrating if you try to use as few words as possible, but the reward of finishing gives the game a sense of satisfaction that few minigames can reach, lending it a much higher ranking than I first expected.

3) Connections:

REVIEW: From Wordle to Vertex: Finding the best New York Times minigame — CatlinSpeak (7)

Entertainment: ★★★★☆

Difficulty: ★★★☆☆

Duration: ≈3:30 minutes - the entire day

The newest member of the NYT minigame collection is also one of its best. The name of the game is to make connections between words, culminating in four groups of words that relate to each other in some way, with each group being assigned a different level of difficulty (yellow being the easiest, then green, blue, and purple).

The satisfaction after finding the commonality between four of the hardest words cannot be understated, however, the difficulty of each puzzle as a whole can be very inconsistent. Some days, each category seems to fit into place perfectly resulting in a disappointingly short experience, while others can be exceedingly tricky, lasting me throughout the entire day.

Either way, the game remains enjoyable, but the greater variation in entertainment results in a slightly lower entertainment score.

2)Spelling Bee:

REVIEW: From Wordle to Vertex: Finding the best New York Times minigame — CatlinSpeak (8)

Entertainment: ★★★★☆

Difficulty: ★★★★☆

Duration: It’s up to you

For my money, the most underrated NYT minigame is the Spelling Bee. In the Spelling Bee, players are given seven letters to try to create as many words (of at least four letters) as possible with the catch being that every word must contain the center letter. Each day also has at least one pangram (a word that uses all seven letters), a fun milestone to work towards.

Another milestone system in the Spelling Bee is the ranks you gain as you guess more and more words ranging from Beginner (0% of all words) up to Genius (75% of all words). This system not only gives the player short goals to work towards but also grants a level of competition when trying to find who can get a higher rank.

Unfortunately, only paying subscribers to the New York Times can access the Spelling Bee past the Solid rank (only the fifth rank out of nine), a privilege that is not included in the NYT school accounts given to students.

1) The Mini Crossword:

REVIEW: From Wordle to Vertex: Finding the best New York Times minigame — CatlinSpeak (9)

Entertainment: ★★★★★

Difficulty: ★★★☆☆

Duration: ≈30 seconds - 1 minute

For me, the Mini Crossword is the best minigame offered by the NYT. The Mini Crossword (otherwise known as the Mini) represents a much smaller version of a traditional crossword with boards generally being from 5x5 to 7x7.

A smaller size compared to the larger Crossword makes the goal of the Mini a race to finish more than just completion for many. This means that the Mini is a great competition with friends one reason that gives the Mini such a high entertainment score.

With clues ranging from elderly celebrities to sports to geography, the Mini’s unmatched variety in each game in addition to its timed, competitive, and fun concept are the main reasons for its number one spot on my list.

While the NYT might be best known for its journalism, its daily games have become an integral part of many people’s lives as well. While each game might not be created equally, they all offer some break from the stresses of life; whether that be mind-numbing stimulation or even a sense of community. From Vertex to the Mini Crossword, the NYT minigames section offers entertainment for everyone to enjoy so the next time you have a break, consider giving a new minigame a try.

Opinion

Harper Davis

REVIEW: From Wordle to Vertex: Finding the best New York Times minigame — CatlinSpeak (2024)

FAQs

How to play Vertex for free? ›

Where to Play. Vertex can only be played on a web browser at nytimes.com/puzzles/vertex.

Is there another game like Vertex? ›

The best alternatives to Vertex are Streamline, 3dicons, and IconShock.

What do the numbers mean in the vertex game? ›

The number on a vertex shows its remaining connections. Triangles will fill in if they are correct. Double tap a vertex to clear its connections.

How many vertex starter puzzles are there? ›

Before you begin the daily picture for Vertex, you have an opportunity to practice on 8 different starter puzzles that act as a tutorial.

What is the point of the vertex game? ›

Vertex is a unique kind of puzzle game based upon logic, in which players must connect points (also known as vertices or dots) together to form triangles that combine to form a larger image.

What is Vertex app? ›

Vertex is paid sales tax software that provides automated tax determination in a cloud-based tax engine. You can integrate Vertex with your Shopify store by adding it as a tax app. Vertex provides the following benefits: tax jurisdiction assignment. sales, use, and value added tax (VAT) determination.

What is similar to vertex? ›

The best overall Vertex alternative is Avalara.

Why does the nyt games app not have vertex? ›

As we increase the number of games — in the last three years we've added three — we constantly need to evaluate how to best use our resources. As a result, we've decided to stop publishing Vertex, a visual logic game akin to painting by numbers, on Aug. 29.

What is the highest combo in nyt tiles? ›

This is achieved by multiplying the number of layers in the tile set by the number of tiles. For most tile sets, this is 90, or 3 times 30. Since you're matching two tiles with each move, the highest possible combo on a three-layer set would be 45.

What is the rule for the vertex? ›

The vertex formula helps to find the vertex coordinates of a parabola. The standard form of a parabola is y = ax2 + bx + c. The vertex form of the parabola y = a(x - h)2 + k. There are two ways in which we can determine the vertex(h, k).

What is the vertex magic number? ›

If a graph G with v vertices and e edges is labeled with numbers 1 through v + e such that every vertex and its incident edges adds up to the same number, then G is a vertex-magic graph. We call this number the magic number.

How do I solve for vertex? ›

We find the vertex of a quadratic equation with the following steps:
  1. Get the equation in the form y = ax2 + bx + c.
  2. Calculate -b / 2a. This is the x-coordinate of the vertex.
  3. To find the y-coordinate of the vertex, simply plug the value of -b / 2a into the equation for x and solve for y.

What is the most played nyt game? ›

Connections is a word puzzle developed and published by The New York Times as part of The New York Times Games. It was released for PC on June 12, 2023, during its beta phase. It is the second-most-played game that is published by Times, behind Wordle.

What is the highest score on the nyt tiles? ›

The premise of Tiles is simple: match different parts of tiles to make the longest combo possible. Each tile looks similar with a couple of layers of defining patterns on each one which help you match them. By continuously matching tiles and working through every layer you can reach the coveted maximum combo of 45.

What is a vertex in math? ›

A vertex is a point where two straight lines or rays meet. Vertices are found in angles, which are measured in degrees. They're also found in two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects where the sides or edges of these objects meet. For example, a rectangle has four vertices because it has four sides.

How to play free games on PokerStars? ›

How to play free poker
  1. Download our free, secure software and create your Stars Account.
  2. Select 'Play Money' in the software (you can play for free in both the desktop and mobile software)
  3. Take your pick from a large choice of free cash games, tournaments, Sit & Go's and more.

How to play free games on meta quest? ›

Download Meta Quest apps and games
  1. Press. / on your right controller to pull up your universal menu.
  2. Select Store .
  3. Select what you want to download.
  4. Select the price to buy it, or select Free if it's a free download.

How to play Osmo for free? ›

You can begin your trial by following these steps:
  1. Download the Osmo game app from the App Store.
  2. Launch the app by tapping on the icon from your home screen.
  3. Tap "Start your 3-day trial".

How to play paid games for free? ›

10 Websites to Download Paid PC Games Free And Legally in 2022
  1. Epic Store (paid PC games for free) Epic Store is one of the most popular websites to download paid games for free in 2021. ...
  2. My Abandonware. ...
  3. IGN Beta Giveaway. ...
  4. FreeGamesFindings subreddit. ...
  5. GOG. ...
  6. Steamgifts. ...
  7. Green Man Gaming. ...
  8. Humble Bundle.

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