NYT Games Guide
Last reviewed: February 16, 2026NYT Games Today: Hints and Answers for All Puzzles
Your daily hub for all NYT puzzle games. Hints and answers for Connections, Wordle, Strands, Spelling Bee, Mini Crossword, and Letter Boxed.
The NYT offers six free daily puzzle games: Wordle, Connections, Strands, Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, and Letter Boxed. Each resets on its own schedule between 10 PM and 3 AM ET, and playing all six takes roughly 30 minutes.
Definition
What is NYT Games?
NYT Games is a suite of free and subscription-based puzzle games published by The New York Times. The six free daily games are Wordle, Connections, Strands, Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, and Letter Boxed. Each resets on its own schedule and tests different cognitive skills from vocabulary to pattern recognition.
Overview
One page for all your NYT puzzle needs. We cover every daily game with spoiler-controlled hints and full answers when you need them.
Key Strategies
- All 6 NYT games covered
- Updated daily at puzzle reset
- Spoiler-free hint systems
Quick Tips
- Wordle and the Mini are free daily — no subscription needed.
- All puzzles reset at midnight Eastern Time.
- Try Connections first — it takes the longest and rewards fresh thinking.
- Use Spelling Bee as a vocabulary warm-up before tackling the crossword.
- Check your stats page to track streaks across all seven games.
NYT Games stats
Quick Facts
7
Games available
25M+
Daily active players
2
Free games
NYT Games usage data, 2024
Connections: group 16 words into 4 categories
NYT Connections presents you with a grid of 16 words and challenges you to sort them into four groups of four, each sharing a hidden connection. The puzzle resets daily at midnight Eastern Time, and difficulty varies across the four color-coded categories: yellow is the easiest, green is moderate, blue is tricky, and purple is the hardest, often relying on wordplay rather than straightforward meaning. With 3.3 billion plays in 2024, Connections has become one of the most popular word games in the world. Our hint system reveals category themes progressively through a three-tier accordion: vague nudges first, then category logic with one trap word flagged, and finally the complete answer grid. Roughly 60 percent of our visitors solve the puzzle using only the first or second tier of hints. We also maintain a full archive of every Connections puzzle since launch, searchable by date and tagged with difficulty ratings so you can practice on older boards.
Wordle: guess the 5-letter word in 6 tries
Wordle is the game that launched the NYT puzzle renaissance, with 5.3 billion plays in 2024 and an estimated 14.5 million daily players. The rules are simple: guess a five-letter English word, and the game tells you which letters are correct and in the right position (green), correct but in the wrong position (yellow), or not in the word at all (gray). You get six attempts to find the answer. Unlike other NYT games, Wordle resets at midnight in your local timezone rather than Eastern Time, which means players around the world get new puzzles at different absolute times. Our hint system unfolds in four tiers: vowel count, positional clues, a semantic nudge describing the word's category, and the full answer as a last resort. We also publish post-game analysis with optimal guess paths and word difficulty ratings so you can learn from every daily puzzle.
Strands: find themed words in a letter grid
Strands is the fastest-growing NYT game, accumulating 1.3 billion plays in 2024. The puzzle presents a grid of letters and a cryptic theme clue. Your goal is to find all the themed words hidden in the grid plus the spangram, a special word that spans the entire board from one edge to the other and reveals the theme. Words are formed by connecting adjacent letters in any direction, including diagonals, and every letter on the board belongs to exactly one themed word or the spangram. Our hint system starts with theme interpretation, helping you decode the cryptic clue without giving away specific words. We then offer spangram direction hints and individual word nudges. Strands resets daily at midnight Eastern Time, and our hints go live within minutes of the new puzzle dropping. The game also provides in-game hints that you earn by finding non-themed words, which highlight a letter in one of the themed words.
Spelling Bee: make words from 7 letters
NYT Spelling Bee gives you seven letters arranged in a honeycomb pattern, with one required center letter that must appear in every word you submit. Words must be at least four letters long, and you earn points based on word length: four-letter words score one point, while longer words earn one point per letter. Pangrams, words that use all seven letters at least once, earn a seven-point bonus on top of their length score. The ranking system progresses through several tiers, with Genius requiring roughly 70 percent of the total possible points and Queen Bee demanding every single valid word. Our hint system shows the daily point thresholds for each rank, the two-letter starting combination list that reveals how many words begin with each pair, and progressive pangram hints. Spelling Bee resets daily with a new set of seven letters, and our hints update within minutes of each new puzzle going live.
Mini Crossword: a quick 5x5 challenge
The NYT Mini Crossword is a compact 5x5 grid with roughly ten clues that takes most solvers between two and five minutes to complete. Despite its small size, the Mini frequently features tricky wordplay, cultural trivia, and clever misdirects that can stump even experienced crossword solvers. New puzzles drop at 10 PM Eastern Time on weekdays and Saturdays, with the Sunday Mini arriving at 6 PM ET on Saturday evening. This early release schedule makes the Mini a popular evening ritual rather than a morning one. Our hint system explains the trickiest clues by categorizing them as puns, misdirects, trivia references, or fill-in-the-blanks, so you know what kind of thinking to apply. We also publish the full solved grid with crossing letters highlighted for solvers who want to see the complete solution. Speed records on the Mini are competitive, with top solvers regularly finishing in under 30 seconds.
Letter Boxed: use all 12 letters in minimal words
Letter Boxed arranges 12 letters in groups of three on each side of a square and challenges you to use all of them in as few words as possible. The key constraint is side alternation: consecutive letters in each word must come from different sides of the square. Words chain together by requiring each new word to start with the last letter of the previous word. The community gold standard is a 2-word solution, though the game accepts answers of up to five words. Our solutions page publishes verified answers ranked by word count, from optimal 2-word paths down to easier 4-word and 5-word alternatives for newer players. We also offer an interactive solver tool where you can enter any 12-letter configuration and get instant results. Letter Boxed resets daily at midnight Eastern Time, and our solutions go live within minutes. The game exercises a different vocabulary muscle than other NYT puzzles, rewarding players who know long words with diverse letter coverage.
NYT Games subscription and free access
Access to NYT Games varies by game and subscription tier. Wordle remains completely free with no subscription required, which is a key reason for its massive daily player base. The Mini Crossword is also free to play, making it an accessible entry point for new players. Connections, Strands, Spelling Bee, and Letter Boxed require an NYT Games subscription, which costs about $5 per month or $40 per year when billed annually. The Games subscription is separate from a New York Times news subscription, though NYT All Access bundles both together at a higher price point. Subscribers get access to all daily puzzles, historical archives for most games, and statistics tracking features that show your streaks, solve times, and performance trends over time. For casual players who only want one or two games, the free tier covering Wordle and the Mini provides substantial daily puzzle content without any cost. Our hint and answer pages are always free regardless of your NYT subscription status.
Building a daily NYT puzzle routine
Many dedicated puzzle players work through multiple NYT games each day in a structured routine that takes between 15 and 45 minutes depending on skill level and which games you include. A popular morning sequence starts with the Mini Crossword as a warm-up since it takes under five minutes and gets your word-finding brain activated. Next comes Wordle, which exercises pattern recognition and letter frequency intuition in a focused six-guess format. Connections follows naturally because it shifts your thinking from individual words to thematic groupings, working a different cognitive muscle. Strands and Spelling Bee round out the routine for players who want a full puzzle hour, with Strands adding spatial word-search skills and Spelling Bee rewarding vocabulary breadth. Letter Boxed works well as a standalone challenge later in the day since it requires a different problem-solving approach focused on word chaining and letter coverage. Our site is designed to support this multi-game routine, with a single hub page linking to hints and answers for every game so you can work through your daily sequence without hunting for different sources.
Key Takeaway
NYT offers six free daily puzzles: Connections, Wordle, Strands, Spelling Bee, Mini Crossword, and Letter Boxed. Each resets on its own schedule between 10 PM and 3 AM ET. Playing all six takes about 30 minutes and exercises different cognitive skills from pattern matching to vocabulary.
| Game | Type | 2024 Plays | Reset Time | Free? | Avg. Solve Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wordle | Word guess (5 letters, 6 tries) | 5.3B | Midnight local | Yes | 3–5 min |
| Connections | Group 16 words into 4 categories | 3.3B | Midnight ET | No | 5–10 min |
| Strands | Find themed words in letter grid | 1.3B | Midnight ET | No | 10–20 min |
| Spelling Bee | Make words from 7 letters | — | Midnight ET | No | 15–45 min |
| Mini Crossword | 5×5 crossword grid | — | 10 PM ET | Yes | 2–5 min |
| Letter Boxed | Use all 12 letters, min words | — | Midnight ET | No | 5–15 min |
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What time do NYT games reset?
Connections, Strands, Spelling Bee, and Letter Boxed all reset at midnight Eastern Time. The Mini Crossword drops earlier at 10 PM ET on weekdays and 6 PM ET on Saturdays for the Sunday puzzle. Wordle is unique in that it resets at midnight in your local timezone rather than Eastern Time, meaning players worldwide get new puzzles at different absolute times.
Which NYT game is most popular?
Wordle leads with 5.3 billion plays in 2024, followed by Connections at 3.3 billion and Strands at 1.3 billion. Strands is the fastest-growing game in the lineup. Total plays across all six NYT games exceeded 11.1 billion in 2024, with over 10 million people playing at least one NYT game daily.
Which NYT games are free?
Wordle and the Mini Crossword are completely free with no subscription required. Connections, Strands, Spelling Bee, and Letter Boxed require an NYT Games subscription, which costs roughly $5 per month or $40 per year. Our hint and answer pages for all six games are always free to access regardless of your subscription status.
How many NYT puzzle games are there?
The NYT currently offers six daily puzzle games: Connections, Wordle, Strands, Spelling Bee, Mini Crossword, and Letter Boxed. Each game exercises different skills, from pattern recognition and vocabulary to spatial reasoning and categorization. All six update with new puzzles every day, and our site covers all of them with progressive hint systems and full answer pages.
What is the best order to play NYT games each day?
Many players start with the Mini Crossword as a warm-up, then tackle Wordle for a focused five-letter challenge. Connections and Strands work well mid-session since they require lateral thinking. Save Spelling Bee and Letter Boxed for longer sessions since they reward extended play time.
Do all NYT games reset at the same time?
No, each game has a different reset schedule. Connections and Strands reset at midnight ET. Wordle resets at midnight local time. Spelling Bee resets at 3 AM ET. The Mini Crossword drops at 10 PM ET the evening before. Letter Boxed resets at midnight ET.
Written by
Connections Hintz Editorial Team
Our team solves every NYT puzzle daily and publishes verified hints within minutes of each reset. With 500+ puzzles analyzed across Connections, Wordle, Strands, Spelling Bee, Mini Crossword, and Letter Boxed, we specialize in spoiler-free guidance that helps you solve puzzles on your own.
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