The June 23 Sports Edition is out. Number 638.
If you think you have this solved, think again.
The Athletic publishes this spin-off. It lives in their app or free on their site, not the main NYT Games dashboard. Don’t look there.
How to Not Mess It Up
Hints help if you’re stuck but still want the thrill of figuring it out. Or just to confirm your suspicions.
Here are four clues, ranked from obvious to infuriating.
- Yellow : Think Cleveland. That’s your entry point.
- Green : Think rebound. Physics involved.
- Blue : Husky? Huntington Bank? Look at the venues, not just the names.
- Purple : A silent letter. You won’t hear it at the end of the word.
The Actual Answers
Spoiler alert? Okay, fine.
Yellow : AL Central teams.
The logic holds up. Chicago. Detroit. Kansas City. Minnesota. Easy enough. Unless you pretend those aren’t baseball places.
Green : Deflection off a surface.
Bounce. Carom. Glance. Ricochet. Wait — the original text had a typo, “richochet”. Don’t let that trip you up in real life. It’s a deflection.
Blue : Big Ten football stadiums.
This one feels weird if you’re not watching college games on Saturdays. Autzen. Camp Randall. Kinnick. Michigan Stadium. Yep. They fit.
Purple : Ends in a silent T.
Here’s where the brain breaks. Croquet. Debut. Garrett Crochet. Rudy Gobert.
Four words ending in a ‘T’ that doesn’t make a sound.
Did you spot Garrett Crochet as a person? Probably not until you did.
What’s Actually Hard
The Sports Edition varies wildly by who’s playing.
My husband eats Formula 1 puzzles for breakfast.
My best friend knows hockey trivia like she owns the ice.
I know everything about Minnesota. Obviously.
But some past puzzles? Absolute nonsense.
- Serie A Clubs : Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, and Roma.
- WNBA MVPs : Catchings, Delle Donne, and the others. If you’re a casual fan, good luck.
- Premier League Nicknames : Bees. Cherries. Foxes. Hammers.
Which one hurts your head the most?
Does it even matter?
The puzzle waits for tomorrow anyway.
