APP STORE AWARDS

Cultural Impact winner: NYT Games

NYT Games: Word, Number, Logic

Wordle, Sudoku, Crossword

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This word-puzzling wonder brought together friends, family and fellow linguistic sleuths for a daily dose of good, wholesome fun.

– App Store Editors

We first got into NYT Games as a way to kick-start our morning. We’d take a crack at a crossword puzzle over coffee and knock out the Wordle before heading to work.

Connections challenges you to figure out which four words correlate. Strands, introduced this year, elevates the classic word search with a grid-spanning theme.

But soon our solitary pursuit turned social. We’d giddily share our Wordle triumphs in family group chats. (“Goofy” in two guesses!) Soon we were asking friends to join our Spelling Bee leaderboards to see how our word-finding skills stacked up.

Grandparents and grandkids teaming up to tackle Strands together. Old roommates comparing Wordle streaks. Fans of Connections posting their coloured blocks to social media to discuss (and, perhaps, humblebrag). Whether through friendly competition or simply the joy of a shared passion, gamers of all ages have found kinship in NYT Games.

NYT Games launched in 2014 with just its celebrated crosswords, but over the years, it has evolved into something else entirely: a social gaming phenomenon that connects puzzle lovers of all kinds across generations.

Quick tip

After completing a Wordle puzzle, tap the “Did you beat the bot?” link to launch WordleBot, the game’s AI coach. You’ll get feedback on how statistically efficient – or just plain lucky – your guesses were, and see how you fared against other players.

Fun fact

Connections isn’t all about words. On April Fools’ Day, the developers delighted (and confounded) players with an all-emoji puzzle.

Meet the creator

Led by editorial director Everdeen Mason, The New York Times’ Games division – roughly 100 people strong – is made up of puzzle editors, software engineers, graphic designers and more. Staffers are encouraged to pitch new ideas – but only nine make it through the stringent review and testing process to ultimately appear in the app.