Every Wednesday since early September, the New York Times has been dropping a batch of five or six brand-new puzzles. They are called Bonus Puzzles, they are twists on games you already play, and most people reading this cannot open them.
That is not a bug. The first set was free for everyone. Every weekly drop after that is for NYT Games and All Access subscribers only.
Here is what the six formats actually are, which ones you can still play for nothing, and why yours might not be showing up.
What the Bonus Puzzles are
The Times announced them on 2 September 2026. The format is a weekly release - five to six puzzles, every Wednesday, built by its puzzle constructors and editors. Crucially they are not just more Wordles and more Connections. Each one takes an existing game and bends a rule.
That is a more interesting decision than it sounds. The daily games have a hard ceiling: once you know how Wordle works, the only variable left is the word. Bending the format is the only way to make a familiar puzzle hard again.
All six formats, explained
| Puzzle | What changes |
|---|---|
| Wordle in 1 | You get one clue, and exactly one word satisfies it. A game is five rounds, one word each, and you must solve all five to win. |
| Connections 3×3 | Three groups of three instead of four groups of four. Nine items on the board rather than sixteen, which cuts the guesswork sharply and shortens the session. |
| Colorful Strands | The rules of Strands are untouched. What changes is the board treatment - the Times describes it as more visually interesting and editorially designed. |
| Mystery Mini | The Mini crossword with the same rules, but a creative twist in how the grid or the clues are presented. |
| Easy Mode Crossword | A gentler way into the full crossword, aimed at solvers the standard grid scares off. |
| Special Crossword | One-off themed crosswords outside the usual daily rotation. |
The one worth your attention is Wordle in 1, because it is the biggest departure. It is not Wordle with fewer guesses - it is a different puzzle wearing Wordle's clothes. You read a single row of colour and deduce the only word that could have produced it. We wrote a full breakdown with five practice rounds in how to solve Wordle in 1.
Wordle in 1 and Connections 3×3. Both change the actual structure of the problem. Colorful Strands and Mystery Mini keep their rules entirely and change presentation - which is a design refresh, not a new puzzle.
Which ones are free?
The honest answer, and it is shorter than anyone wants: the starter set, and nothing else.
When Bonus Puzzles launched, the Times put out an introductory batch that anyone could play without a subscription. That still stands - if you have never touched them, there is a free sample waiting. But every Wednesday drop since is behind the Games or All Access paywall.
So "are the NYT bonus puzzles free" has a technically-yes answer that becomes no the moment you enjoy them. That is a deliberate funnel, and a fairly elegant one.
Why yours might not be showing up
This is the most common complaint, and it is usually one of three things:
| Symptom | Usual cause |
|---|---|
| You see no Bonus Puzzles at all | You are not on a Games or All Access plan. A news-only subscription does not include them. |
| You played some once, now they are gone | You played the free starter set. Those were the sample. |
| Subscribed, still missing | The rollout was staged over several months rather than switched on everywhere at once. |
No. They require NYT Games or All Access specifically. This catches a lot of people out, because plenty of long-time subscribers assume anything on the Times site is included.
Is it worth subscribing for?
Depends entirely on whether you want quantity or novelty.
If what you want is more puzzles, this is a poor deal - five or six a week, once a week, for a recurring fee. If what you want is different puzzles, it is better value than it looks, because Wordle in 1 and Connections 3×3 genuinely are new problems rather than refills.
But notice what is happening underneath. Wordle itself arrived free, with no account and no catch. What the Times has steadily built since is a structure where the free tier is the trailer. We tracked exactly which bits crossed that line in what's still free in Wordle.
Want more puzzles without a subscription?
Unlimited rounds at three difficulty levels - play as many as you like, no weekly drop and no paywall. No account needed, completely free.
Play Wordle Unlimited - FreeThe short version
Six formats, every Wednesday, and only the first batch is free. Two of them - Wordle in 1 and Connections 3×3 - are worth playing on their own merits. The other four are the games you already have, dressed differently.
If you have been feeling like the daily puzzle got stale rather than harder, that instinct is worth checking against the numbers: we measured 992 answers to see whether Wordle is actually getting harder, and the answer surprised us.
Common questions
Only the introductory starter set, which anyone can play without a subscription. Every weekly Wednesday release after that requires an NYT Games or All Access subscription.
They appear in NYT Games for Games and All Access subscribers, with a new batch each Wednesday. A news-only subscription does not include them.
Wordle in 1, Connections 3×3, Colorful Strands, Mystery Mini, Easy Mode Crossword and Special Crossword.
Most often because you are not on a Games or All Access plan, or because you already used the free starter set. The rollout was also staged over several months, so some subscribers got them later than others.