Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-girl-bed-bedroom-4045621/

When people think of their morning routine, some think of drinking a cup of coffee or scrolling on social media until they decide to get out of bed, mine is waking up and doing the NYT games. Like many others, I have become addicted to the rush you get when all of the boxes turn green in the Wordle or when you finally think of that word that contains 7 letters in the spelling bee to get the pangram. Although all of the puzzles are unique, fun, and have addictive qualities- which one is the best?

8. Tiles: The problem I have with Tiles is that it is really boring. The game challenges the player to match tiles, as the name implies, that share similar characteristics. I always lose interest halfway through, I find that Tiles is repetitive and offers players little to no challenge. The game is very simple and easy to play, but definitely the most tiresome option out of the New York Times games.

7. Letter Boxed: There’s a reason why Letter Boxed is listed at the bottom of the NYT’s game page. The premise that Letter Boxed focuses on is forming words using 12 letters in the shape of a square. However, the catch is that the letters on the same side of the square can’t be used consecutively. Frankly, Letter Boxed annoys me. It has the characteristics of Spelling Bee, but without the joy of honeycomb. Whenever I think of a word that could work, the letters happen to be on the same side. The only reason anyone plays this game is because they have completed the Wordle and are bored.

6. Vertex: Vertex is a simple color game with a very satisfying result. The game revolves around connecting dots into triangles to form a colored picture. Similarly to Tiles, Vertex is ranked on the lower side due to its monotonous repetition. Once you figure out the game, it’s the same moves over and over again. Despite this harsh review, the game gets a couple of bonus points for the witty titles such as “frankly speaking” for the hot dog picture.

5. Spelling Bee: Although the New York Times spelling Bee is nothing like the ones in elementary school, if it were I would definitely win. This game focuses on forming words using 7 letters in the shape of a honeycomb. The ultimate goal is to get the pangram, a word that includes all letters. The spelling Bee humbled me in the beginning, making me realize how small my vocabulary really is. However, over time it has become one of the more interesting games.

4. Sudoku: Sudoku is always a classic. Sudoku has nine 3×3 boxes within a 3×3 box that asks the player to fill each box with a number ranging 1 to 9. There are three modes: easy, medium, and hard. It loses points on the originality side but overall is a fan favorite that I will continue to play despite never being able to do the hard mode.

3. Mini crossword: The New York Times is known for their crossword so it’s no surprise that the mini is such a success. It is a quick, fun, and easy game that can be played by everyone despite skill level. I love how it progresses in difficulty being the easiest on Monday and progressively getting more challenging. I always enjoy competing against my friends to see who can complete the puzzle the quickest.

2. Wordle: A worldwide phenomenon, Wordle took everyone by storm becoming the NYT most played mini game. In the game the player has six guesses to get a five letter word, with the tiles turning green when the letter is in the correct spot and yellow when it is in the word but incorrect spot. Much like the mini crossword, anyone can play this game. It has so many addictive qualities and always has me coming back the next day. And yes I am one of those people that always starts off with the word ADIEU.

1. Connections: Although it is the newest NYT game this is hands down the best. I didn’t try this one for a while because I didn’t know how it worked, but once I did it instantly became my favorite. It gives you twelve words that you have to put in four different categories that progress in difficulty from yellow being the easiest to purple, the hardest. Connections fills a space that the New York Times was lacking. Even though it is newer, it has become the most popular behind the Wordle. And I am not surprised why. Connections gets and A++ rating from me.