STARE. ALOUD. AUDIO!  Every day at midnight users eagerly wait as they watch the countdown on the New York Times website strike down to 0:00:00, waiting for the arrival of today’s word games. One of these popular games, Wordle, has completely taken over the internet. The goal of the game is to guess the secret 5-letter word in less than 6 guesses. Colored tiles will appear over each guessed letter signifying how close each guess is. Yellow tiles indicate that it is the correct letter, but has wrong placement and green tiles mean that it’s the right letter in the proper spot. Ultimately, the options of what words you can use are almost endless, as long as the words used are real words. The word game fun was not limited to just this one puzzle. As Wordle rose in popularity many other word games joined, such as Connections, Crossword, and Spelling Bee! 

Connections

16 words, four attempts, yet limitless relationships. Connections is a video game that challenges players to sort words that share a common thread into four distinct groups. Another New York Times hit, the puzzle quickly grew in popularity behind its sister game, Wordle. The new family of games follows the same routine everyday: evaluate attempts, keep track of statistics (streaks, number of wins, time taken), then completely reset to a new batch of solutions at midnight. Categories include simple themes like animals, specific show characters, and even fill-in-the-blanks. The challenge, however, is that most words have endless meanings and therefore, endless connections to other words. For senior Nathan Pothuganti, a committed player of the game, he finds it “difficult to make some of the associations just by staring at the screen a few minutes.” A true brain teaser, Connections gets players’ minds moving. “Sometimes I come back to a puzzle I couldn’t solve and I’m able to make new associations right away,” Nathan explains. With each new day, players are able to reset their brains alongside the game.

USA TODAY Crossword

A four letter word that ends with P. (Hint: _____, crackle, pop (Rice Krispies sounds))

“Snap!” With the click of a mouse, whether it’s a study break or downtime between classes, passing hours have the opportunity to turn into quests filled with thrilling puzzles and brain-teasing excitement. USA Today is a prominent newspaper and broadcasting company—but among the students of PPCHS, it’s better known as a checkbox for the daily crossword puzzle. With the daily crossword, the opportunities are endless. Themes center around creative absurdity, ranging from Flip Flops (freestyle) to The Ending Will Shock you! “I like to play the USA crossword because it’s fun and it usually gets my brain going in the morning. I enjoy solving the clues they give you to fill out the crossword, and sometimes I learn new words or pieces of trivia,” says senior Leanne Sorensen. Whether it’s the satisfying feeling of completing a challenging puzzle, or the joy of learning something new, digital word games remain a favorite pastime for many, offering a moment of mental stimulation and relaxation during the chaos of everyday life.