NYT Crossplay: Play and Spell
Friendly multiplayer word game
Ratings
Age
13+
Category
Word
Languages
English
Tue Feb 24 2026
This version contains a fix to address the Tile Bag not displaying the correct number of remaining tiles.
Have feedback? Email us.
nytgames@nytimes.com
NYT Crossplay: Play and Spell reimagines the solitary experience of word puzzles as a social event. Players can invite friends to collaborate on grids, combining their vocabulary skills to unlock new levels. Designed with the high standards of New York Times Games, it offers a polished interface and curated puzzles that range from casual fun to brain-teasing difficulty. It’s the perfect way to stay connected while sharpening your mind.
Dinsun Expert Review
Our Expert Score
NYT Crossplay is the ultimate gift for word nerds. Taking the world-class quality of The New York Times Crossword and making it collaborative is a stroke of genius. There is a specific kind of joy in seeing a friend's avatar fill in a word you were struggling with, and vice versa. It turns a solitary brain-teaser into a team sport.
The app is predictably polished—it’s NYT, after all. The interface is elegant, the puzzles are curated to perfection, and the 'Crossplay' feature works seamlessly across devices. It doesn't just feel like a game; it feels like a social hub for people who appreciate the English language. Whether you're a casual Spelling Bee fan or a Friday Crossword veteran, this app is the new gold standard for social word play.
Features
Multiplayer Co-op
Curated Word Lists
Daily Challenges
Cross-device Sync
Tips & Walkthrough
Use the built-in chat to coordinate which section of the board each player is tackling to avoid double-entry and save time.
Gameplays
Look for common prefixes and suffixes first. Clearing the smaller words often provides the necessary letters to solve the main theme words.
Screenshot
Q&A
While designed for social play, you can enjoy various solo modes and practice rounds.
Ratings & Reviews
Iconic, Must have for NYT Games as well as Word Games.
Wed Jan 21 2026 Justin CourtemancheThe interface, gameplay, clean graphics, the ability to save my progress to Apple ID with my NYT account, the whole core mechanics of this game is incredible. It is so addicting placing words and adding friends and seeing everyone’s statistics in each profile and watching my own stats in my profile rack up! Very smooth and crisp! The ads also isn’t an issue with NYT games ads only them only being 5 seconds feels endless and seamless between some games, they also don’t pop up after every turn that some other word games have as an issue. This is a simple clean cut word game where there isn’t any currency or other type of power up’s to help with words/ having the game find them/place them for you, this is purely and entirely your own mind and tiles! Also this game makes it unique where it feels fresh and different from say scrabble or words with friends making this game even better! Please keep this going forever with updates! The best game on the Apple Store that I have played in a long time! A must have for word games on your phone. Again, Better than other leading ones in the same category!
It’s basically Scrabble
Fri Jan 23 2026 Ca Fashionista!I really enjoy it, the only reason why I would not give it. Five stars is because you have to find someone alive to play with. And because you’re playing with another person, you do not know half of the time, you’re waiting on their timeline. So if you wanted to sit there and play for the next hour, you’d have to depend on someone else to play with it does not have a auto bot player. Once you do find someone to play with you it’s an enjoyable game if you’d like the game of Scrabble
Needs Improvement
Sat Feb 21 2026 hjgurThis is basically a copy of Words With Friends but with a few tweaks, including a slightly different board layout and slightly different tile scoring. Unfortunately, none of these tweaks improve the game over other on-line iterations of the concept. Bothersome is that the game promises to pair you with a player equal to your playing level, but this is not the case. You can see others’ stats, and I’m often paired with someone who’s playing level is not close to mine. Most bothersome is the option to play against the computer, as even the hardest level is far too easy. My scores against the computer are consistently in the range of +200 points and double the computer’s score. Why not have a very hard level? It’s difficult to fathom why NYT Games wouldn’t create a more innovative and challenging product. But it is typical of the “dumbing down” of NYT games recently, especially the crossword. Clearly this new addition to NYT Games is a money grab. It’s sad the NYT no longer sees an investment in quality over mediocrity as a factor in the success of the NYT brand.
Endgame is so so bad
Sun Feb 01 2026 MrFreakingGuyThis is a great app to play Scrabble with, but the way the endgame works on this app is so much worse than in normal Scrabble. I’ve lost so many close games because I have to bingo for points when there’s only 10 or so tiles left in the bag, which means if my opponent plays more than two tiles the bag empties and they get an extra turn. And I don’t know what I’m supposed to do in that situation, just not play a bingo for way less points so I have a better chance of getting the last turn? That is silly. If you couldn’t tell I am writing this while very angry about losing like that. Please please lawyer up or something and change it to the normal Scrabble rules 🙏
Love this game
Mon Feb 23 2026 Go WinterFabulous game. I love that you can make your play whenever is convenient. No game clock, just work on your move when you have time. Must play game for me. I would suggest that the Play button is swapped with the text box button. I have on multiple occasions accidentally hit this. Sometimes there is a word on the board and it take that as my move. This has happened to other players too. Too easy to inadvertently hit it when moving tiles at the bottom of the board.
Thank you
Fri Jan 23 2026 EmmagoodbeanHello. Huge fan of all things word game related here. Thank you for bringing us a new scrabble platform. I have a few suggestions. Firstly, the online matching has not been able to match me with anyone. I’m sure you’re aware of that and our trusted friends at NYT are already working out the kinks so I won’t waste my breath. Secondly, I have been playing the computer matches, I appreciate the option to do so. However, I have beat the computer every time. Please make it harder. Thank you again.
Love this game!
Sat Feb 21 2026 DaysydearThis is so much better than “that other game” that we’ve probably all played. It has similar features, but the Crossplay dictionary is an actual dictionary with real words and none of those silly accidental ones that the other game allowed. I really enjoy playing every day, both with my sisters and random players. I would like to suggest one additional feature, and that is a pass and play feature so that I can play with my grandson.
Kenna Bree
Thu Jan 29 2026 Andthisnicknameistakentoo?!Thought this would be great to have a new game and one that is accessible thru this app and would likely attract a more skilled group than the usual words with friends bunch. But honestly, it isn’t great. I’ve tried repeatedly to be matched with a player and most of the time the player has reached their max number of games for the day and when I have been matched with another player they never play. I’ve grown bored of beating the hard level of the computer after a dozen or so games. There’s not a real challenge here in its current state.
Some Youtube Videos found!
News found!
Crossplay, the first of its kind from The Times, pits puzzlers against each other on a shared board.
The New York Times Tue Feb 03 2026
Get ready to bring your A-to-Z game. We're launching our first-ever 2-player game, Crossplay, designed for real-time competition and social...
The New York Times Company Tue Jan 20 2026
This new Scrabble-inspired game is a distraction-free alternative to ad-loaded competitors like Words With Friends.
TechCrunch Tue Jan 20 2026
Crossplay is a Scrabble-like electronic feature that represents The New York Times' first multiplayer game.
OregonLive.com Tue Jan 20 2026
Cross Bot will analyze your games in Crossplay, a new two-player word game from The Times.
The New York Times Tue Jan 20 2026
Hi, busy bees! Welcome to today's Spelling Bee forum. Enter the comments section to see hints, conversation, helpful tips and creative...
The New York Times Tue Jan 13 2026
Our to-do list app picks, Todoist, TickTick, and the Apple-exclusive Things 3, are a breeze to use, have thoughtful designs, and feature flexible organization...
The New York Times Sat Jan 03 2026
Since the launch of the Crossword in 1942, The Times has captivated solvers by providing engaging word and logic games. In 2014, we introduced the Mini...
The New York Times Wed Dec 03 2025
We spent 44 hours researching and 48 hours playing 15 different games with 25 people, to find the best options for players looking for a deep and rewarding...
The New York Times Fri Oct 03 2025
you can now showcase your daily triumphs and fuel your friendly rivalries across Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee and the Mini Crossword — in a...
The New York Times Company Sat May 03 2025
You may also like
Scrabble® GO – Fun with Words!
Wordfinder by WordTips
Connections - Word Game
Puzzle Page - Daily Games!
Crossword Puzzle Redstone
Daily Themed Crossword Puzzles
Everyday Puzzles: Mini Games
