Free games like NYT Games: 12 daily puzzles for Wordle, Connections and Mini fans
Updated October 2, 2026 · 12 games
If your morning routine is Wordle, Connections, Strands, Spelling Bee and the Mini, and you have run out of puzzles by 9am, this list is for you. Each section starts from a New York Times game you already play and points to free games that scratch the same itch, whether you want them instead of a subscription or on top of one.
We checked that every game here is live, free to play in a browser and works as described in October 2026. A few have optional paid extras, which we note. One of them is ours, and we say so where it appears.
Try one of today’s Origins Quiz clues
Which state is named for a people whose own name for themselves means 'grey snow'? The familiar name is what the Dakota called them, filtered through French, and the popular gloss 'sleepy ones' is a mistranslation. (4 letters)
Play the other nine clues →
If you like Wordle
Guess a hidden word from colored letter feedback, sometimes several at once.
Solve four Wordle-style words at the same time, with nine guesses shared across all four. A new puzzle every day, hosted by Merriam-Webster.
Best for: Wordle players who want more than one word a day.
The same idea scaled up: eight five-letter words at once, with 13 guesses to solve them all. Also a daily game from Merriam-Webster.
Best for: A longer session when Quordle feels easy.
All the letters are already on a waffle-shaped grid, just in the wrong places. Swap them into the right words across and down, with green and yellow hints and 15 swaps to spare. The daily puzzle is free, with optional supporter extras.
Best for: Wordle fans who like a bit of logic.
If you like Connections
Sort a grid of words into hidden groups, and watch out for red herrings.
Grids based on the connecting wall from the British quiz show Only Connect: find the groups and name the link. Players make and share the grids, so there are a lot of them. Free to play, with an optional PuzzGrid Pro tier that removes ads.
Best for: Connections players who want more grids than one a day.
Group related words in a grid to uncover the hidden categories. One of several daily puzzles on CleverGoat.
Best for: A daily Connections-style grid.
If you like the Mini Crossword
Small grids you can finish over coffee.
A bite-sized crossword with a new puzzle every day, free to play in a browser.
Best for: A quick daily crossword from a major newspaper.
A quick daily crossword on a 5x5 or 7x7 grid. Today's puzzle is free for everyone, while the archive of past puzzles is for subscribers.
Best for: A free daily mini from a regional paper.
A fast-paced daily 5x5 mini crossword that tests your speed as well as your vocabulary.
Best for: Racing the clock.
A small daily grid with a twist: one hidden 10-letter word and ten clues. Each answer starts with the next letter of the hidden word, and every clue is about where a word, name, place or brand came from. Solving a row gives you letters toward the others, and every puzzle has a roundup that tells the full story behind each answer.
Best for: Mini fans who like trivia as much as wordplay.
Play today’s puzzleFull disclosure: we make this one. It’s on this list because it’s the game we wished existed.
If you like Spelling Bee or Strands
Find as many words as you can from a fixed set of letters.
Use seven letters to make just 12 words. Longer words score better, and bonus letters and pangrams earn extra points. A daily game from Merriam-Webster.
Best for: Spelling Bee fans who like a scoring strategy.
Find words by connecting neighboring letters in any direction on a square grid, until every hidden word is found. Puzzles get harder through the week, and there is a quick 3x3 Express version too. Free, with an optional subscription for the archive and no ads.
Best for: Strands players who enjoy tracing words through a grid.
You get a starter word and five tries to find the longest word that contains it. A daily game from The Guardian.
Best for: A short daily word hunt with a twist on Spelling Bee.
Frequently asked questions
- Are there free alternatives to New York Times Games?
- Yes. Every game on this list can be played free in a browser. A few offer optional paid extras, such as Squaredle's subscription, PuzzGrid Pro or supporter perks on Waffle, but the daily puzzles do not need them.
- What is a free alternative to the NYT Mini crossword?
- The Washington Post and The Boston Globe both publish a free daily mini crossword, and CleverGoat's Crossherd is a free 5x5 daily. If you want something different from a standard mini, Origins Quiz is a small daily grid built around word and name origins.
- Is there a game like Connections that is not from the New York Times?
- PuzzGrid is based on the connecting wall from the British TV quiz show Only Connect, and it has a large library of player-made grids. CleverGoat's Categories is a daily word-grouping game in the same format.
- Who makes Quordle and Octordle?
- Both are hosted by Merriam-Webster, which also runs Blossom, a daily seven-letter word game that Spelling Bee players tend to enjoy.