NYT Games: Solve Puzzles Daily 4+

NY Times online crossword puzzle app

For $2 or $3, you get access to the archive of the daily puzzle in addition to all the Monday through Sunday puzzles as they come out. A gold star is available
for each new puzzle that you complete on the day of its issue. It’s an addictive feature that has kept me completing the puzzles each day now for the past two months and counting. Other collections of themed puzzles are available for nominal fees. The included archive alone looks to be enough to keep me occupied for several years to come, at least. These are fun puzzles to experiment with, since the technology allows for rapid, easy letter replacement. I frequently go with my gut on difficult and obscure answers, sometimes finding them surprisingly correct, sometimes transforming entire puzzle quadrants from one set of answers to a largely different set. The letter replacement feature makes this app a clear favorite over the old pen and paper technique. I use the app each day and highly recommend it.

DON’T BITE

I used to subscribe to the NYT, I enjoyed playing all of the games they offered. No doubt that the quality of the game app is great. I have a problem with transparency in the sales of the app. I reviewed all the qualifiers which appear in the App Store, I dug deeper into the NYT developer qualifiers as well. They mentioned no amount to download and play the app. In fact they go so far as to state that should they decide to charge for the app they will give notice of any pricing changes in advance. They sure make you feel like you’re getting an app which you can play for free.
Having read everything that was up front as well as the purchase agreement I felt that it wasn’t a pay to play app. As soon as I downloaded the app the first screen I got was an invitation to a one week free trial and then a monthly payment for subscription.
I don’t have a problem with the app being a payment subscription.
This is the NYT and if you’re going to charge me to use the app then say it before the download. I get how some sites lead you along then you see get the money message, normally I would just roll my eyes and say “fool me once” and bailout. This seems like a breach of good faith by a trusted institution. Practices like these as misleading. If you’re selling something for money, then say so upfront. It’s the NYT, I have lost track of what they have become.

Developer Response ,

Hi there! The app is free to download and you can play many games every day with a new puzzle each day for free. You can play Wordle, Mini Crossword, Connections, LetterBoxed, Tiles just to name a few. Email us at nytgames@nytimes.com with any questions.

Good but has a ways to go

Overall this app is pretty good, and the games within are fun, but there are a handful of annoyances that I really wish they would address, mostly boiling down to how every game feels like a completely isolated/separate experience. 1️⃣ Why is Vertex still not added? It's really annoying having to do all but 1 game in the app, then switch to the browser just to do Vertex. 2️⃣ Why is the friends list/leaderboard only for the Mini crossword? It would be great to see how my friends did in Wordle, the regular crossword, Connections, Strands, etc without having to hit Share and text everyone individually. 3️⃣ Why does every game have their own settings? For example, I can change Wordle to use Dark Mode and High Contrast mode, but not other games like Connections or Strands. Those settings should be app-wide! 4️⃣ I wish they would add an optional setting to make more games timed. Wordle, Connections, Strands, etc. This would be much more fun to share with my competitive friends than whether or not we had to use a hint or got a guess wrong since that doesn't happen often. 5️⃣Subscribers should be able to access the full archive of Spelling Bee. It doesn't really make sense to only have the past week only.

Developer Response ,

Hi there! The issue with the Leaderboard has been fixed. You should see your scores showing up correctly going forwared. Contact us at nytgames@nytimes.com if you are still having trouble. We will be happy to help get your Mini scores back on track.