Game: Klipsun Connections

Story and game by Zen Hill

In 1913, a crossword puzzle created by Arthur Wynne was published in The New York World. It was the first time a puzzle of any sort had ever appeared in a major publication. In a 1924 opinion column, The New York Times called crossword puzzles “a primitive sort of mental exercise” and a “sinful waste” of time.

Since then, crossword puzzles have only grown in popularity, and a variety of related “mental exercises” along with them.

In 1942, The New York Times began printing a regular Sunday crossword. It was created by Margaret Farrar. NYT’s first daily crossword was a 15-by-15 square puzzle released in late 1950. Following the release of this first daily puzzle, a crossword began to appear in every paper, with the Sunday crossword continuing to be a much larger affair at 21x21 squares.

In January 1996, the crossword came to the web for the first time. In 2014, NYT brought The Mini Crossword to their website, and from there, NYT’s games have flooded the internet. Today, anyone can play Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed, Tiles and Vertex on NYT’s website. With a subscription, you can play the unlimited versions of these games, but anyone can play a free daily puzzle in each game category.

Curious about what people are playing, we asked some residents of Bellingham, Wash. about their experiences with these daily games. Here’s what they had to say:

“I play Wordle, Connections and the Mini every morning before I go to school as just part of my morning routine, send my scores to my mom, and she sends hers back. It’s just a fun little thing to do every day but it gets you thinking a little bit as well. I love them!” - Eva Mullin

“They’re pretty difficult, but I enjoy doing them with friends. I’ve noticed that the puzzles earlier in the week tend to be significantly easier than the ones later in the week. I’ve found tiles to be the easiest game and connections or the regular crosswords to be the most difficult.” - Sydney Bentley

“I LOVE Wordle and Connections and I look forward to completing them every day.” - Alex Tokheim 

“[They’re] pretty fun, I play the first three daily [or] almost daily.” - Andrew Smith

“I love playing the NYT games in the morning before my classes. It helps me get my brain focused and thinking before engaging in lectures. I find that Wordle and Connections are the games that start my day off on the right foot and get my brain in gear.” - Ava Perrollaz

Now it’s time to get your brain in gear with some Klipsun Connections.