I love the New York Tims Crossword. The aesthetic of this game is challenge, difficulty, abnegation, and fellowship. The mechanics of the crossword is that it is a horizontal and vertical word puzzle where the words share letters. From this mechanic, there is a dynamic of guessing and fitting words. From this, the challenge aesthetic occurs. The next mechanic is that each day, from Monday to Saturday, the puzzle gets harder and harder. Then on Sunday, the crossword is extra large. This creates a dynamic of “leveling” up each day which creates the difficulty aesthetic. Lastly, the game is portable and can be done in various chunks of time. This creates a dynamic of being able to turn off your brain and being able to pass idle time. This creates the abnegation aesthetic. Lastly, the crossword can be done with family members or friends. You can work with those around you to complete the crossword, and there is a great feeling of accomplishment when you solve the puzzle together. This creates a fellowship aesthetic. Another layer is that you can even compete against yourself on a week-by-week basis of how far into the week you can solve the puzzles without outside help. I think this adds to the challenge aesthetic as well.
