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Inside the New York Times' Big Bet on Games

Go behind the scenes of Vanity Fair’s photoshoot with the brains behind the New York Times’ games.

Released on 12/19/2023

Transcript

[editor laughs]

[upbeat music]

Oh! [group laughs]

[Both] Welcome to our Vanity Fair photoshoot!

[balls clack]

[Editor] Woo!

[upbeat music]

Hi, I'm Will Shortz,

Crossword Editor for the New York Times.

I love crosswords because I'm always learning something,

they're always a challenge,

and I love the people I come in contact with.

[upbeat music]

Hi there, I'm Sam Ezersky.

I'm a Digital Puzzle Editor for the New York Times.

I've been making crosswords since high school, actually.

This is nerdom that has paid off down the stretch, I think.

[camera clicks]

Hi, I am Wyna Liu.

I am Connections Editor

and Puzzle Editor of the New York Times.

I love thinking about connections.

I love thinking about alternate meanings of words

and sort of [indistinct].

[upbeat music]

I'm Tracy Bennett.

I'm a Puzzle Editor at the New York Times.

I'm responsible for the game, Wordle.

I do a lot of research for every single word

that gets scheduled in Wordle.

[camera clicks]

My favorite clue might be

for the answer, spiral staircase.

The cluething was, It may turn into a different story.

[upbeat music]

[balls clack]

[camera clicks]