Is Reunion a NYT Word Game?
Short answer: no. Reunion is a daily word game made by Merriam-Webster, the dictionary publisher. This page clears up the mix-up and compares Reunion with the NYT games people usually bundle it with.
Short answer: no. Reunion is a daily word game made by Merriam-Webster, the dictionary publisher. This page clears up the mix-up and compares Reunion with the NYT games people usually bundle it with.
Reunion is published on the Merriam-Webster website, which carries the credit line “A Merriam-Webster Game” right on the game page, and the game files are served from Merriam-Webster’s own domain. Merriam-Webster is an American dictionary publisher whose dictionary dates back to 1828; the company has been part of the Encyclopædia Britannica group since 1964.
The New York Times has nothing to do with it. The confusion is understandable: daily puzzle games became a category because of Wordle, and search results often list Reunion next to NYT titles. But there is no Reunion page inside the NYT Games app or on nytimes.com/games.
| Game | Publisher | Core mechanic | One board per day? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reunion | Merriam-Webster | Drag scrambled letters into rows and columns so every unbroken line spells a real word | Yes, in two modes (Classic and Extreme) |
| Wordle | The New York Times | Guess one hidden five-letter word in six tries with color feedback | Yes |
| Connections | The New York Times | Group sixteen words into four hidden categories | Yes |
| Strands | The New York Times | Find themed words in a letter grid, including one spangram | Yes |
The practical difference: Wordle, Connections and Strands are about guessing or spotting words. Reunion is about building them — you physically rearrange tiles, and color feedback tells you whether a letter belongs in that row or column. If you like puzzle games where the solution is construction rather than deduction, Reunion plays closer to a mini crossword-building toy than to Wordle.
Yes. Reunion runs in the browser on the official Merriam-Webster game page without a paid subscription, and a second Extreme board is published alongside the Classic one each day. If a page asks you to pay for Reunion, you are not on the official game. Our where to play online free guide covers the access route in detail.
Yes. Reunion is a free browser word game at merriam-webster.com/games/reunion. No account or subscription is required to play the daily board, and the same page hosts the harder Extreme version of each day’s puzzle.
No, it never belonged to the New York Times. Reunion has been a Merriam-Webster game since launch, and there is no earlier NYT version of it. The association exists only because players group all daily word games together.
It is a different kind of hard. Wordle limits your guesses; Reunion lets you take as many moves as you want but scores you on how few you use. Most players find Reunion’s Classic board gentler than a stubborn Wordle, while the daily Extreme board is the tougher cousin with fewer starting hints.
Reunion shows a star rating when you finish, based on how few moves you used, and tracks a daily streak for each mode. Sharing works the same way as other daily games: you compare scores with friends by puzzle number rather than posting a spoiler of the answers.
Disclaimer: This website is an independent guide resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the original game publisher.