Bloganuary Prompt: “ Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you? “

A month or so back one of my longest and best friends introduced me to the Puzzles Section on the New York Times app. My buddy suggested it was a good way to engage your mind after sleeping the night, a good way to start the day.

Man, oh man, was he correct. My friend is quite a bit better at the word puzzles than I am — and he reads a ton more too; must be a correlation — but I’ve quite taken to the “play” all the same.

I typically play three games; here’s the run-down.

I start with Wordle; I recall hearing about this game a couple of years back; didn’t play then; glad I’m playing now. I’ve had maybe the best luck with this puzzle.

Connections is next; sixteen words that have to be matched in groups of four. Sometimes I get stumped. but when it comes together it’s a great feeling.

Last up is Spelling Bee; seven letters; one of the seven is “golden”, in the middle, and must be used in every word. I’ve had the best results using the Hints Grid found in the Spelling Bee Forum.

Playing the puzzles has been a welcome addition to my daily routine, which often feels daunting, heavy, and complicated. The puzzles provide predictable structure and discrete boundaries, and they are fun!

I’ve rediscovered a little discipline too. If I don’t get the first two puzzles pretty quickly in the morning first thing, I close them up and revisit later in the day. Spelling Bee goes on / off throughout the day, until I make a final effort before bed.

Here’s to more play,

The perfect way,

To start the day,

HOORAY !

[Check out NYT website at bottom of post for more.]

And to find all these puzzles and more, go to the New York Times website:

https://www.nytimes.com/puzzles