Classic Books by Characters
New York Times Games
What We Did Before the Internet
You've Got a 50/50 Chance
TV shows by Theme Song
200
The Bennet sisters, Mr. Darcy, Miss Bingley
Pride and Prejudice
200
Sunday's is always the biggest and usually the hardest.
The New York Times Crossword
200
If you wanted to know the phone number of someone in your area, you could seriously just look them up by name in this. (Usually you'd also find their address.)
The telephone directory or "phone book".
200
Who has a unibrow, Bert or Ernie?
Bert
200
Waylon Jennings let us know that the protagonists in this early 80s show were "just some good old boys, never meanin' no harm."
The Dukes of Hazzard
400
Scout, Jem, Boo, Atticus, Calpurnia
To Kill a Mockingbird
400
This numbers game that originated in Japan is really a logic game, where each of 9 numerals must appear exactly once in every vertical and horizontal line, as well as in each 3x3 square.
Sudoku
400
Sometimes we would get to know people far away by becoming this kind of friends -- writing letters back and forth and sending them through the mail.
Pen pals
400
Who was known for his high tenor voice: Simon or Garfunkel?
Art Garfunkel
400
This 2000s mockumentary centers around a paper company.
The Office
600
Pip, Estella, Miss Havisham, and a "mysterious benefactor"
Great Expectations
600
Josh Wardle originally coded this word game for his girlfriend during the COVID pandemic; the NYT bought the rights in early 2022 for over a million dollars.
Wordle
600
World Book and Britannica hired salesmen to talk families into buying their own sets of these. They definitely made junior-high research reports easier.
Encyclopedias
600
Of Laurel and Hardy, the one who was skinnier.
Stan Laurel
600
Henry Mancini's inimitable 60s style lent its saxophonic grace to this comedic detective film (and its sequels); the star of the film's credits sequence spun off a cartoon series with the same name. Look, OK, it was the '60s.
The Pink Panther
800
Gilbert, Diana, Marilla, Matthew, and the girl in the title
Anne of Green Gables
800
The word game where you make as many words as possible out of the letters you're given, with each word containing the letter from the center, is named after this elementary-school test of nerd skill.
The Spelling Bee
800
If you wanted to make a playlist, you could make a mixtape; if your boom box had this feature, it meant you could quickly copy music from other tapes in your collection.
High-speed dubbing
800
Of Starsky and Hutch, the one who was played by an actor who also had a significant supporting role in the film version of *Fiddler on the Roof*
Starsky
800
Mike Post composed the theme to this 1980s police detective series that starred Tom Selleck.
Magnum P.I.
1000
McMurphy, Chief Bromden, and Nurse Ratched
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1000
This daily game requires the player to group sixteen words into four groups based on thematic or conceptual elements.
Connections
1000
You could shop without going to the mall by perusing one of these, and then sending your order form through the mail with a check, money order, or your credit card information.
Store catalogs
1000
Of Chip and Dale, the one with the red nose
Dale
1000
This epic theme was the weekly opener to a popular drama series on HBO that ran from 2011 to 2019.
Game of Thrones