My Daily NYT Game Ritual (and when it goes wrong)
So, you know how it is with these New York Times games. They’ve got a whole bunch of ’em now, not just the crossword. I try to do a few every day, keeps the brain ticking, right? Usually, it’s a bit of fun, a nice little challenge. Get my coffee, sit down, and try to get that little dopamine hit from solving something.
The Tennis Debacle
But then, the other day, Connections really got me. One of the categories was clearly tennis-themed. I saw the words, and my first thought was, “Oh, this one’s easy! I got this.” I mean, I’ve watched enough tennis, played a bit in my younger days. How hard could it be? Famous last words, eh?
I started clicking away, feeling all smart. And guess what? Mistake. Another mistake. Then a third one. The words they picked weren’t the straightforward “racquet, ball, net” kind of stuff. Or maybe they were, and I was just having a particularly dense moment. It was one of those situations where you think you see the connections, but you’re just miles off. Before I knew it, all my guesses were gone. Boom. Failed. Honestly, I felt like a complete idiot. Staring at the screen, thinking, “Really? Tennis got me?”
Couldn’t Let It Go – The “Do Over” Mentality
Now, I’m not someone who likes to be beaten by a little word puzzle, especially when it’s about a topic I think I know. It just gnaws at me. So, even though there’s no actual “do over” button for that specific puzzle once it’s done for the day, I definitely had to have a mental “do over.” I wasn’t just going to shrug it off.
So, what did I do? First, I probably muttered a few choice words at my computer screen. Then, I really started to think about where I went wrong.
- Did I rush it? Almost certainly. Saw “tennis” and jumped in feet first.
- Did I get stuck on one idea and ignore other possibilities? Yep, classic me.
- Was I too focused on obvious tennis gear instead of, say, types of shots or scoring terms that can be a bit more subtle? That was probably a big part of it.
My “do over” wasn’t about trying to magically replay that lost game. Nah, that ship had sailed. It was about thinking, “Okay, what am I going to do differently next time something like this pops up?”
The Next Day’s Approach
The very next day, I sat down with Connections again. Different set of words, of course. But my whole approach felt different. I made a conscious effort to just slow down. “Don’t be a hero,” I told myself. I looked at all sixteen words for a good while. I tried to mentally group them in a few different ways before I even dared to make a click.
It wasn’t a tennis puzzle that day, which was probably for the best for my ego. But I used that same, more careful method. And you know what? It worked out. I still took a couple of tries on one category, I’m not saying I’m a genius all of a sudden. But I got there. And it felt way more satisfying than just blindly guessing.
What I Reckon Now
So, yeah, that whole “tennis do over” experience with the NYT Connections game was a bit of a wake-up call. These little games, they’re designed to be tricky, to make you think. And sometimes, even when you’re pretty confident about a subject, they can still trip you up. It’s all part of the game, I guess, even when it’s making you pull your hair out. And to be honest, a small part of me is kind of hoping another tennis category shows up soon. This time, I’ll be a bit more prepared. Or at least, I’ll try not to make a fool of myself so quickly!
