NYT Games Tests New Phrase-Guessing Puzzle ‘Zorse’ in Canada

The New York Times has begun beta testing its latest puzzle game, Zorse, a phrase-guessing challenge with a twist. According to Semafor, Zorse combines two phrases into one, offering a fresh spin on wordplay. NYT spokesperson Jordan Cohen told that Zorse is designed to mash up phrases in unexpected ways, similar to the hybrid animal for which the game is named—a mix between a zebra and another equine.

Currently, the game is only available in Canada, so those outside the region will have to wait to try it. But Andrew Webster, a Canada-based colleague, gave it a go and described Zorse as something akin to Wheel of Fortune, but with an added puzzle twist.

Each round of Zorse starts with a clue and a series of blank tiles representing the mystery phrase. For today’s puzzle, for example, two “H” letters were already revealed. Players can click to unveil up to five more letters before making their guess. When you feel confident about the phrase, you can enter it to solve the puzzle.

For word game enthusiasts like me, who are already hooked on Wordle, Connections, Strands, and the NYT mini crossword, Zorse sounds like another daily fix in the making. Let’s hope this game rolls out globally soon.

This isn’t the first time the NYT has quietly tested games before launching them to a wider audience. Earlier this year, Strands followed a similar path before joining the NYT Games app in June. However, not every beta test makes the cut—Digits, a maths-based game launched in April 2023, was discontinued after a few months.

In other puzzle news, NYT Games now has an archive of old Connections puzzles for subscribers, while LinkedIn has added a fourth game to its lineup, Tango.