[bikitan]

> of course, I pretty much expect the NYT to fuck that up, but oh well, that always happens over time

They have a number of free games that don't require any kind of account or registration. I am optimistic that they won't introduce any unsavory elements to it and turn off the playerbase it's amassed.

Take a look: https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords

[arrrg]

If you look at these games you can see that Wordle is a perfect fit. There is no other way to put it.

If Wordle were already in that games list it wouldn’t stick out at all. Especially the aspect of having a daily puzzle that’s the same for everyone is a great fit. Even the whole design aesthetic is similar (it’s a pleasantly useable experience all around).

The biggest differences are the ads and the registration requirement. Which are, I guess, in a sense both ways to fuck it up.

[hn_throwaway_99]

Sorry, I beg to differ. I just clicked on your link and tried the Spelling Bee game. Started playing, after I hit my fifth word the game terminated and I got a popup:

You’re good at this! Know more words? Subscribe to reach our Genius ranking.

With a subscribe button.

I don't blame NYT for doing this, at all. If you pay millions of dollars for something, you expect a return. But this kind of "stop what you were interested in doing right when it starts becoming fun so you can subscribe" is exactly the type of annoying shit I was talking about.