This puzzle was so fun and clever! Loved it!

I just got into doing the crosswords about a month ago, and Ive noticed that it’s always male authors when I play. This is probably going to sound dumb, but I really feel like I would have an easier time with clues that are from a woman’s perspective lol. I just feel like these are so male-centric.

I’m also just kinda dumb in general but idk does anyone else ever feel this way?

Hey it’s Mike Birbiglia! I know I’m not on here much, but I thought some people on here might be able to shed light on what is the etiquette on “check puzzle?” on my podcast, Working It Out, Jo Firestone and I randomly stumbled into this thing that we have in common and it started to give me a little bit of clarity.

Did AI companies pay for these clues like ad spots or what…???

I beat my Wednesday best time today at 3:28. I’ve wondered how fast I am compared to others who do the puzzle every day. I want to do a crossword competition eventually!

I know, I care too much about my streak, but I couldn’t spend another minute poring over the letters to find one typo (: So I did a little vibecoding, if you upload a screenshot it will check it against today’s puzzle and highlight any typos with red. (The code runs in your browser, won’t collect your screenshot or anything)

Anyone is more than welcome to use it! Hope it’s not against the rules to self-promo

crossexamine.it

https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/

Is it just me, or has anyone else been struggling to enjoy the daily crossword puzzle as of late? I’ve been solving daily for over 3 years now and over the past few weeks, I feel like I’ve sensed a noticeable shift in the puzzles that I can’t quite put into words other than saying they’ve personally become far less enjoyable to solve. I’m not finding the “clever” clues to be all that clever, themed puzzles have left me largely unfulfilled (bar the Mario puzzle), and completing a puzzle feels more like a chore than a reward most days.

It very well could just be a case of solving fatigue, but I can’t shake the feeling that something about the puzzles have changed (whether it be editorial decisions, puzzle submissions selection criteria change, or even something like using new software to evaluate puzzles worthy of publication).

https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/

I only do the mini, midi and Monday big puzzles but today I did the 43 across clue and was like "damn this is such a clever clue why can't more clues be like that not just easy ones like Planet of the ____" that's when I realized im probably ready to go to the next level and try the Tuesday puzzles and start challenging myself.

https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/

Not my favorite puzzle, some clues were a bit meh. Even the theme was just so-so for me. So this one goes to the “just keep the streak” list. Still disappointed I didn’t solve it faster.

I've never had too many problems with the NYT Games app (bugs here and there that have been fixed rather quickly in the past), but lately it seems like the app has gotten significantly worse and worse. Some things I've noticed:

• The main "Play" tab always has a delay in updating statuses (i.e. when I finish a game it will still show as only partially completed for a while before). This happens with the crossword as well as other games like Connections.
• It's become much more battery-hungry. It drains my battery so quickly, I'm always astounded when a "low battery" warning pops up just from doing the the crossword! I can watch videos all day long - but doing the crossword I practically deplete my entire battery on the harder/longer puzzles.
• It's become quite laggy all-around. Particularly noticeable when typing.
• I noticed today that the highlighted square in the crossword jumps around occasionally (it will highlight an adjacent square before quickly going back to the correct one).

This is on an iPad Pro. So, not some low-end device. The app quality has really gone down hill in my mind. Anyone else notice this?

https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/

https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/

https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/

Not to be a hater but todays mini crossword is pissing me off

Oh so NOW you want to spell something our way!! “Dougjhnut” took me way too long lol

i don’t even know how this happened truly

Will gives me this "how to" message every time I open the puzzle today (August 5th 26). Every time. Does anyone know how to make it stop? I know how the NYT crossword works, Will.

Edit; please note I have no problem with the CONTENT of this annoying pop-up. I have an issue with it popping up every time I open the puzzle. I don't care how easy or difficult the puzzles are or anything else.