PUZZLE GAMES
This daily ritual requires you to guess a five-letter word in six tries or less, and by now, you probably start every morning with the word "ADIEU" or "STARE."
What is Wordle?
Since we are in California, you should know that this city—famous for its trees and farm-to-fork food—is where the Governor signs our laws.
What is Sacramento?
These colorful chocolate buttons melt in your mouth, not in your hand, and their mascots include a sarcastic Red one and an anxious Yellow one.
What are M&Ms?
In this game, one person counts to ten while everyone else scampers off to conceal themselves; the goal is simply not to be found.
What is Hide and Seek?
These interlocking plastic bricks from Denmark hurt incredibly bad if you step on them, but they let you build everything from Harry Potter castles to Star Wars ships.
What are LEGOs?
In this other New York Times favorite, you must sort 16 words into four secret categories—but watch out for the "purple" category, which is always the trickiest.
What is Connections?
Sitting exactly one mile above sea level, this "Mile High City" is the capital of Colorado and a hub for skiing enthusiasts.
What is Denver?
First they're sour, then they're sweet. These chewy, kid-shaped candies are known for their chaotic commercials where they cut people's hair or causing trouble.
What are Sour Patch Kids?
If you want to move from the couch to the coffee table without touching the carpet, you are playing this game where the ground is made of molten magma.
What is "The Floor Is Lava"?
She has been an astronaut, a vet, and the President; this doll had a massive resurgence in 2023 thanks to a Margot Robbie movie.
Who is Barbie?
Even if you've never played this game, you likely know its most famous meme: "The Cake Is A Lie." You use an aperture gun to shoot holes in walls to solve test chambers.
What is Portal?
This is the only U.S. state capital that you cannot drive to; it is located in the panhandle of Alaska and is only accessible by plane or boat.
What is Juneau?
Named after a galaxy (sort of), this bar features nougat, caramel, and chocolate, but unlike its counterpart the Snickers, it has zero peanuts.
What is a Milky Way?
Made terrifyingly famous by Squid Game, in this playground classic you can only run when the person at the front shouts "Green Light!"
What is Red Light, Green Light?
Back in 2017 when you were in elementary school, every kid had one of these ball-bearing toys that you simply held between your fingers and spun.
What is a Fidget Spinner?
This classic logic game comes pre-installed on many old PCs and involves clicking gray squares to avoid hidden explosives; the numbers tell you how many bombs are touching that square.
What is Minesweeper?
This capital city's slogan is "Keep It Weird," and it hosts the massive SXSW (South by Southwest) music and tech festival every year.
What is Austin (Texas)?
A massive trend on TikTok during your high school years involves taking candy like Skittles or peach rings and putting them in a vacuum chamber to make this crunchy version.
What is Freeze-Dried Candy?
In this classroom favorite, seven students stand at the front while everyone else puts their heads down and thumbs up; if your thumb gets touched, you have to guess who did it.
What is Heads Up, Seven Up?
These ultra-soft, marshmallow-like stuffed animals became a massive collector's craze for Gen Z, with characters like Cam the Cat and Wendy the Frog.
What are Squishmallows?
This viral physics game from 2023/2024 challenges you to drop cherries and strawberries into a box until they merge enough times to form this giant fruit.
What is the Suika Game (or The Watermelon Game)?
This capital of Vermont is the smallest state capital by population and is the only one in the entire country that does not have a McDonald's.
What is Montpelier?
These orange, peanut-shaped marshmallows are a Halloween staple that generates intense debate: people either love them or think they taste like sweetened styrofoam.
What are Circus Peanuts?
This contact game involves two teams holding hands in parallel lines and daring the other team to send someone over to break through their grip.
What is Red Rover?
In the late 90s, this robotic owl-like creature was a "must-have" toy, but it became infamous for waking up in the middle of the night and talking without batteries.
What is a Furby?