Comment by mexicocitinluez
3 hours ago
I still think the ultimate puzzle is the Sunday crossword (followed closely by Thur-Sat), though Connections is great. And definitely difficult (but never feels unfair).
I cancelled my subscription a few years back due to the way NYT was covering the current administration. At the time, I believed they'd never offer a "puzzles only" subscription because then they'd lose a large part of their subs. But, I was wrong. And now they offer a puzzle-only subscription.
There's a great documentary about the Crossword with Will Shortz that came out about a decade ago that's interesting.
Spelling bee is also pretty consistent.
I would say the Saturday puzzle is definitely harder. Sunday’s is just bigger.
In 2023, 55% of visits to NYT's website were to games, not news. The puzzle-only subscription points to the NYT's fate as a game company that also offers news, much as airlines are credit card/loyalty point companies that also offer flights.
So my hunches were correct (majority of people were subbing to play the games), but not my conclusion: that they wouldn't split it off.
I've always thought that Will Shortz was one of the most powerful people at the NYT (slightly joking, but sorta not).