The New York Times has put the Mini Crossword, one of its popular daily games behind a paywall, and many of its frequent players are decrying the change.
The Mini Crossword is billed as the “bite-size” version of the publication’s daily word puzzle, according to its website.
For years, The New York Times has offered several daily word games for free play on its platform, including Wordle, a five-letter word guessing puzzle.
On Tuesday, Aug. 26, instead of their daily crossword, players were met with a paywall, meaning they had to pay for a subscription to play the game. The New York Times’ games subscription package costs $6 per month, or $50 per year.
“I’m actually in such a rage over this,” TikTok user @ssophieice said. “Screw New York Times, screw capitalism, I’m done.”
People respond to the Mini Crossword behind a paywall: ‘Give it back’
Social media users were quick to commiserate with each other over the loss of free access to The New York Times Mini Crossword. Some even posted emotional pleas for the publication to reverse the decision.
“Why must happiness require a fee,” @maeve.agn wrote in the comments of a TikTok video about the situation.
Under a video overlayed with text that reads, “GIVE IT BACK NYT,” user @bimmy_juffet wrote, “devastated in ways I’ve never known before.”
One person on X even said they decided to cancel their games’ subscription “in solidarity with my ‘mini only’ crossword brethren.”
Another person on X wrote: “finding out the nyt mini crossword is now behind a paywall has done irreparable damage to my spirit.”
NY Times says it offers ‘dynamic mix of free puzzles and subscriber-only offerings’
In a statement to USA TODAY, Jordan Cohen, a spokesperson for The New York Times, noted that games, including Wordle, Connections, Strands and Sudoku, are still “free to play for all.”
“Our portfolio features a dynamic mix of free puzzles and subscriber-only offerings, creating opportunities for every kind of solver to engage with us, every day of the week,” Cohen said.
Cohen added, “We’re at an exciting place where we can continue to experiment with what works best for our subscribers and explore how Games can contribute even more meaningfully to The Times’s essential subscription strategy.”
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New York Times puts Mini Crossword behind paywall. Users are upset.
