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If you’re at all tuned into popular events, it is likely that you have stumbled across some (or, more likely, many) rumblings regarding the most recent populist movement currently sweeping its way across the nation. I’m referring, of course, to the Wordle, a simple game in which the player attempts to guess a particular 5 letter word in 6 tries. Each day, the word changes at precisely 12 o’clock AM, much to the delight of a slew of nationwide players, whose wordle-related conversations I will inevitably overhear throughout the rest of the next day. While I appreciate this “wordle mania”, and have played the game myself, recently, a different game on the New York Times’s website has captured my attention: The Daily Mini Crossword.
The Daily Mini is fairly self-explanatory; each day, I log onto the website to complete a small, typically 4x4, crossword. The answers range from pop culture “moments”, to random historical trivia, to the largest living organism by mass (it’s the aspen tree, by the way). Despite the game's technical simplicity, I find it oddly therapeutic – a small break from the sometimes overwhelming motion of my real life that allows me to focus my energy elsewhere, to an uncomplicated little game with no real consequences. Additionally, it allows me to learn new things by building on what I already know. While I appreciate games like the wordle, the appeal of the Daily Mini lies in this approach to solving the puzzle. If I am stumped on a single answer, I can simply move on and get new clues to help me make my way through the puzzle. This, for me, is far more satisfying than being forced to rely on my, admittedly limited, 5 letter word vocabulary. Completing the Daily Mini has become a kind of daily ritual; one that allows me to test my logic skills and trivia knowledge in a way that is both enjoyable and stress relieving.
While these advantages apply to any Mini player, and will, hopefully, help convert more McConnell Center blog readers to avid Daily Mini fans, the last (and perhaps greatest) impact of the Mini is specific to me. Playing the Daily Mini has allowed me to connect with my mom, a long-time supporter of simple word games who also recognizes the superiority of the crossword. My parents don’t live in Louisville, and so the long periods of time I go without seeing them can sometimes cause a bit of homesickness. The Daily Mini, while relatively silly, provides a common, semi-competitive hobby for my mom and I to participate in together, despite the two hour time difference. While it’s a small thing, it makes me happy to know that we can still connect in small ways. Completing the Daily Mini has become a minor thing to look forward to, and a tradition I plan to continue far into the future.
Megan Crowley is a McConnell Scholar in the class of 2025. She is studying political science at the University of Louisville.