‘Wordle’ and ‘Connections’ fans offered strike-friendly alternatives by protesting developers

Wordle fans have been offered a number of strike-friendly alternatives while staff at the New York Times stage a walkout.

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Earlier this week the Times Tech Guild, a union that represents over 600 members of staff who work on the New York Times‘ website and games section, went on strike after “multiple rounds of intense” negotiations.

Following the decision, gamers were encouraged not to cross the picket line and avoid playing New York Times games like Wordle and Connections, as well as the daily crossword.

Now protesting staff have shared a number of strike-friendly alternatives via the new Guilds Bundle. “We know how hard it is to break your Wordle streak, so we have been hard at work making more games for our supporters,” they explained.

We know how hard it is to break your Wordle streak, so we have been hard at work making more games for our supporters! Here's our latest: Trivia and Jokes https://t.co/6jgliDfhOp pic.twitter.com/N7LcFCxTr6

— New York Times Tech Guild (@NYTGuildTech) November 7, 2024

The eight games include Strikeman, a timely take on classic word game Hangman, and Scabby’s Fair Contract Builder which sees players take control of Scabby the rat as he tries to collect falling good proposals while avoiding the bad ones. There’s also a reworked version of traffic-crossing game Frogger and the Tech Guild’s own daily crossword.

Wordle fans can play Strikle, a strike-themed clone of the game, while developers have also created a strike edition of New York Times’ own Connections. Check them out here.

PLAYING GAMES: In the great tradition of strike publications, we offer our tech-worker version.https://t.co/L46DXTrDsp

Now you can play and not be a scab. We also want to thank the multitude of @nytimes subscribers who have stopped playing and honored our digital picket line.

— New York Times Tech Guild (@NYTGuildTech) November 6, 2024

“Games are built by union members and supporters and are not affiliated with the New York Times company,” reads the website. “Please pardon any bugs. We are working hard to win a contract!” Spokesperson Jen Sheehan has said games will be updated when they can (via The Verge) with new titles also being added to the hub. 

There are also a number of strike-themed recipes as people are also being encouraged to avoid the New York Times’ cooking website. According to the Guild, key concerns over remote/hybrid work protections and fair pay have not been “meaningfully addressed” by management, leading to the walk out.

The strike is ongoing, with Wordle fans asked to avoid playing the game for the duration of the industrial action.

In other news, Death Stranding celebrated its fifth anniversary yesterday (November 7) by surprise-releasing an Xbox version for the very first time. 

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