The New York Times Expands Gaming Lineup with New Puzzle ‘Zorse’

The New York Times is set to expand its digital gaming offerings with the introduction of a new puzzle game called “Zorse.” According to reports from Semafor, the newspaper will commence beta testing for the game in Canada on Tuesday. A New York Times spokesperson confirmed that Zorse is “a phrase guessing game where every puzzle is a mash-up of two phrases.” The game is expected to leverage the traditional strengths of The Times’ Games section by focusing on player engagement and feedback during the beta phase.

The name “Zorse” itself is derived from the hybrid offspring of a zebra and another equine, presumably hinting at the game’s theme of combining elements to create something new. This launch marks a continued effort by The New York Times to enrich its digital offerings and achieve a stated goal of 15 million paid subscribers by 2027. With successful ventures like a standalone $6 Games-only subscription, The Times has monetized its game offerings through ads and expanded its player base significantly.

The Games section has been a particularly successful area for The Times, growing from a small team focusing on crosswords to a large department responsible for a variety of puzzles and quizzes. Popular games such as Spelling Bee, Connections, and Wordle have contributed to the growing success of The Times’ gaming initiatives. Wordle alone has been played 4.8 billion times, as per company data. These figures have led some analysts to view The Times as a burgeoning gaming company due to the substantial amount of time subscribers spend on these puzzles.

Further developments include the launch of a Connections Archive, allowing subscribers to access past editions of the Connections game. As a part of its digital strategy, The New York Times has previously beta-tested games like Strands, which has since become a permanent fixture in the NYT Games app. However, not all games have experienced the same success, with Digits—a math-based puzzle game—being discontinued after its beta launch.