Wordle is arguably one of the most popular daily digital puzzle games you can play right now. It was so incredibly popular when it was released a few years ago that it spawned countless clones and outright rip-offs. Eventually, its popularity led to it being acquired by the New York Times, which added its own touch.
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The game has been going strong for the past few years, with the New York Times releasing a new puzzle every day. But now it appears that the NYT tech team doesn't want you playing the game along with other games owned by the publisher. Employees went on strike over unfair labor practices and urged readers to stand in solidarity and not play the game.
Do not cross the digital picket line
As Eurogamer reports, the strike was organized by The Times Tech Guild, a union of about 600 employees who oversee the New York Times' website and gaming departments. The strike reportedly began after NYT management failed to reach an agreement with the union after “multiple rounds of intense negotiations.”
“While NYTGuildTech is on this ULP strike, we [New York Times] Subscribers should not play Times games such as Wordle or Connections or use the Cooking App. Because that would cross the digital picket line,” one of the union’s tweets said.
Among the items reportedly discussed during the negotiations were work-from-home/office mandates, pay equity, and subcontracting limits. NYT management was accused of unfairly violating “numerous labor laws” and intimidating employees by interrogating them about their intentions to strike.
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“Our union members and bargaining committee did everything possible to avoid this ULP strike,” Kathy Zhang, senior analytics manager and Times Tech Guild department chair, said in a statement. “But management is more willing to risk our election coverage than agree to a fair deal with employees. They left us with no choice but to show the power of our labor on the picket line. Nevertheless, we are ready to negotiate and reach a final agreement.”
Wordle is consistently one of the most played daily puzzle games on the market. This strike could mean that you might not get your daily Wordles if the strike lasts too long and you run out of puzzles saved in NYT.
Wordle, the daily word puzzle game that took the world by storm in 2022, gives you six chances to guess a five-letter word, with color-coded squares showing how close you are to the answer for each guess. Created by a software engineer named Josh Wardle, it was acquired by the New York Times in 2022.
