The NYT games team was inspired by Wordle, Knight says, especially the spoiler-free way that it lets players share the solution on social media, with rows of coloured squares. We see that in the business, too – games have really grown in popularity over the last couple of years.” “We get incredible letters from our players and fans, heartfelt messages about people who solved a crossword with their elderly parents – even in times of tragedy, word games are the things that kept people together until the very end … we’ve all spent a lot of time indoors with each other and we feel like our games have brought a lot of joy to people. “Their values are aligned with mine on these matters and I’m thrilled that they will be stewards of the game moving forward.”Īccording to Knight, the paper, which has been running a crossword since 1942, has always understood the value of games as part of the news package. “I’ve long admired The Times’s approach to the quality of their games and the respect with which they treat their players,” Wardle said in the press release announcing the sale. According to Knight, the NYT made contact with Wardle at the beginning of January, when the game was still early in its ascent. It’s safe to assume they’re not in this for a quick buck. Our games are about mental challenge and mental fitness and staying sharp – what you might call smart fun.” “We have a set of creative pillars for our games – we want them to feel like time well spent, they should fit well into your day, we like that we’re all collectively working on the same human-made puzzle at the same time and trying to get to the same solution – we think that’s really important. This is something Knight, who has previously run studios for Electronic Arts and Zynga, is keen to emphasise. Ideas are brainstormed then prototyped and tested over many months, and several designers are graduates of the NYU Game Center, the groundbreaking game design school that has become the industry’s equivalent of Central St Martins. Alongside a daily crossword and sudoku, it has Tiles, Spelling Bee, Vertex, Letter Boxed and Mini Crossword – all interesting, smart and highly acclaimed, and all designed by the paper’s dedicated games team, which is effectively run as a development studio. There’s an important piece of background here that non-NYT subscribers might not realise: this newspaper is extremely serious about games.
So the first order of business is really to bring it on to the NYT site, introduce our audience to Wordle, and Wordle’s audience to the New York Times, and go from there.” Clearly Wordle has created a huge daily engagement phenomenon and we see intrinsic value in that. “Our strategy is to have more people spending more time with the Times – both the news and our products around the news, whether thats games or cooking or audio or Wirecutter. So why would the NYT pay a seven-figure sum for something that it’s not going to directly monetise? “Our number one priority is around users and engagement,” says Knight. Photograph: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images The New York Times is extremely serious about games.
Josh has said publicly that he was inspired by our games – he and his partner play Spelling Bee.” “We have a fairly minimalist design to our games,” says Knight. The NYT’s own games, as well as the Wordle page and app, are all reassuringly stylish there’s an Apple-like concern with cleanliness and uniformity in both the visual design and the user experience. Those worried about the game being suddenly plastered with ads can probably relax, too. I think we have a good sense of why it’s so popular and we’re committed to maintaining that game design.” “Our number one objective is to continue what makes this game so special – I think in that regard we are more like stewards at the beginning. “It’s a little early for us to talk about where we might go with the game,” says the NYT’s general manager of games, Jonathan Knight. That doesn’t mean that Wordle will never be locked behind a paywall, but for now it won’t – and bear in mind that the NYT currently lets nonsubscribers play some of its other games and crosswords for free.
GAMES LIKE NEW YORK TIMES TILES FREE
In its announcement, the NYT said Wordle would “initially” remain free to current and new users.
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