The Waltonian

The New York Times online game category has taken off in the past couple of years, making a huge resurgence in the past few months. Accessibility, ease of play and shareability of results seem to correlate in the steady rise in popularity of games like Wordle, Connections and other staples that seem to have many people across the country hooked.

As the games have become a huge phenomenon not just online, but through everyday interactions, we must ask ourselves the question—should I start? (Fair warning to the reader: once you start, you just may not be able to stop.)

The games are easy to access, take only a few minutes and are a great way to connect with family and friends who also participate in this online puzzling culture. So what exactly does it entail? Each puzzle is refreshed daily and is the same for each player. This means that every person who plays that day gets to play the same puzzle (super great if you’re like me and love a good competition).

Personally, I always start my day with the Wordle. The Wordle gives you six chances to guess the five letter word of the day. As players guess, letters turn green, yellow or gray to indicate the position of the letter in the word. Green means the letter is in the right spot, yellow indicates that the letter is in the word, just not in that certain spot and gray means that letter is not in the word at all. As with most of the NYT games, when you are finished solving the puzzle, you can share how well you did with friends via text or social media. The sharing of progress, I think, has resulted in the ways the game has grown in popularity. You can see how many guesses it took and how many green, yellow and gray letters they had for each guess without knowing the word. This sharing would then prompt the receiver to play the game and try it for themselves.

Next up on my typical puzzle rotation would be the Connections puzzle. This puzzle takes the form of a four-by-four grid of sixteen different words (or in the case of the April 1 puzzle, emojis). The goal is to match each in groups of four that have a common connection. Seems easy enough right?

Oh, how I wish.

The game ends when you get all of the connections, or if you use all four of your mistakes. The categories are never crazy obvious. They range from “types of birds” to “starts of US states” and everything in between. Each category when it has been solved is labeled yellow, green, blue or purple, depending on how straightforward the category is deemed. This puzzle is definitely a little more challenging and many times will leave you frustrated as you watch the guess you were so sure of be completely wrong. Personally, this is one of my favorite games NYT released, although many times it leaves me staring at my screen in anguish.

Third on the list would be the Mini Crossword (of course). A tiny version of the reputable NYT crossword puzzle, the Mini is a digestible way for players to get a quick crossword in. Players can strive to beat their times each day as they try to solve the puzzle as best as they can. I recently started incorporating this into my daily routine and have gotten strangely better at guessing actors names.

Last but not least, the NYT recently released a beta version of a new game called Strands. Strands functions quite like a word search except every letter is part of a word that corresponds with the theme. There is a “Spangram” word that ties everything together within the search. Don’t worry, you won’t be without hints. Each word you find that is not part of the theme gets added to a hint bank. Three words in the bank gets you a hint. These hints allow you to progress with the game when stuck. The game is easy to learn, fun to play and a welcome challenge if you are looking for something to distract you from work.

Some honorable mention games if you are looking for extra procrastination fuel: Sudoku (with easy, medium and hard levels each day), the Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed and Tiles.

If you have always wondered what the hype has been about in the NYT games, now you know. I’d encourage you to check them out, they’re so worth it.

As winter wanes and spring approaches (according to Punxsutawney Phil), students across campus allow themselves to slowly exit the library and enjoy the spaces on campus that lured most to Eastern in the first place.

The ponds, the trees, the chirping birds, the squawking geese(?), sun shining onto the fields and into bedroom windows: all bring sounds of the most anticipated season of the year. Spring is the season where students can finally ditch the heavy coat and enjoy the sun on their face. It’s the season where the darkness stays in its place a little longer and the season when students can fill the hill again or even break out their hammocks with a good book. It’s the season where students are filled with hope of another semester almost completed, summer peeking her beautiful face around the corner.

Amid this change, the places on campus to be in the spring are not limited. From study spots in front of Walton and the library to the Grove outside of Sparrowk, there are plenty of places for students to enjoy the sun and relax into the transformation of the world around them. Students scramble for a table on the Walton patio, while others enjoy more secluded spots by the Gate House. All can agree, the warm rays are the perfect boost to finish out the semester strong.

Freshman year, I stumbled upon my (now) favorite hammocking spot for the spring. Tucked into a quiet corner of campus, past the athletic fields and gym, wooden posts jut out of the ground. The sound of trickling water from the nearby stream fills the (mostly) quiet atmosphere while squirrels play in the trees surrounding the spot. In the nearby pond, the turtles have a quiet meeting on a log.

Nothing is more perfect than a 70 degree day, a good book, laying in a hammock in this specific spot. When there aren’t practices and games happening, this spot serves as a great solace from the hustle and bustle of regular campus life. The trees create a sweet cover from the sun if needed, and the chirping of birds is never tiring.

The spring lends itself plenty of opportunities to stay in nature. And although it is not quite summer and we still have work to do, I can think of countless spots on campus where you could get the best of both worlds enjoying the breeze while finishing that paper you don’t want to write.

In the number two spot is the Grove outside of Sparrowk. The lights, the picnic tables, the big rocks, the stream and the bridge make the Grove stand out in the rankings of outdoor spots on campus. Recent tree cutdowns trims down the number of perfect hammocking spots, but the stream cutting under the bridge, the round picnic tables and the lights give the Grove a top rating in my mind. Serene, convenient and semi-secluded (down the hill), the spot is the perfect place to be productive while enjoying all the warmth that spring has to offer.

Last but not least, the Walton patio is a classic spot to do work while hanging out with friends. Breeze rustles the trees and the flags, while people around are chatting and laughing. Friends leave for class and new ones find their ways back onto the stone tables and benches on the patio. The rising temperature brings a newfound warmth, rejuvenating people once more.

The world is a happier place in the spring. Laughter floats through the air, and a gentle calm graces our hearts like a sweet breeze. All is well again. Bring on spring.

As kids, we may have turned our PJ’s inside out or put a spoon under our pillow to ensure snowflakes fell from the sky heavy enough to cancel school the next day. We dreamed of a day full of nothing but snow forts, snowball fights and races down big snowy hills. Our parents bundled us up, sending us out to play for hours and hours then to come back in for warm blankets and hot cocoa.

Now, I wonder if our thinking has changed.

Everything is quiet and still, the snow landing on the rooftops, creating a shield from the oncoming stressors of the start of the semester. We dream either of sleeping in until 2, cozying up in your dorm with a cup of hot cocoa, or are one of the braver ones opting for a nice stroll in the winter weather. There is something for each one of us as we watch the snowflakes fall outside of our windows.

According to many Eastern students, one of the best ways to spend the snow days is on the biggest hill on campus, right outside of Kea-Guffin. Students gather together, using anything they can to slide down the snowy slopes onto Olson Field. Laughter and shouts are heard as Easterners sled down on sleds, cardboard boxes, laundry baskets, storage bins, the lids to said storage bins and a few brave souls daring to stuff into the inner circle of a tire. There is a sense of comradery and childlike spirits as classmates and teammates alike push each other into the snow and watch as their friends shriek as they launch off the top of the hill, creating the best vibes for a spectacular snow day. On the way back to our rooms, we imagine ourselves cozying up next to a fire (or the YouTube version pulled up on our laptop) and enjoying a good book (or movie, your choice). Finally, we reach solace from the freezing temperatures and wish everyday could be a snow day (a TRUE snow day, not the zoom kind).

I wonder what would be the worst way to spend a snow day. I believe that snow days, no matter how you spend them, are some of the best days of your life. They only come around a few times a year and are meant to give a well needed rest. So that is exactly what I think we should do. Rest. We are meant to live, not just survive.