The Mini Hall of Fame – The New York Times Games (2024)

“Anytime I complete a Mini in under 10 seconds, friends on my leaderboard ask how that is even possible. I just tell them I blacked out when I started the puzzle and when I came to, it was solved.”

Zack, New York

“My mom and I used to play every day and tease each other with our times on the Friends Leaderboard. She passed away in April of 2023, and since you have not deleted her username yet (thank you!), I still get to see her name every day when I finish the puzzle. It helps me feel her still with me — while I am still trying to beat her time!”

Margaret, Maryland

“My wife, her best friend and I all race on The Mini every day. The day my wife finally beat me is my favorite Mini memory by far. Mostly because she won’t let me live it down.”

Jason, New Jersey

“Every day, eight of us post Mini times to our leaderboard and our Signal chat. The battle is bloody. But fast.”

Elizabeth, California

“One year at Thanksgiving, after everyone had gone to bed, my son and I stayed up well past midnight doing old Mini puzzles from the archive. We were trying to finish one in under 10 seconds, with him typing and both of us looking at the clues. It was a fun bonding experience.”

Mike, Virginia

“My best solve was 0:08 — my sister’s boyfriend accused me of cheating, so I screen recorded the next two weeks of solving to prove him wrong!”

Brianna, Pennsylvania

“My girlfriend and I used The Mini as an excuse to talk to each other before we were dating, and used the leaderboards as a reason to exchange phone numbers. And then I ripped off a 12-second score shortly after to really impress her :)”

Alec, California

“The Mini is my passion … the flame that fuels my day … I live for the adrenaline rush every morning sitting at my desk, racing against the clock, hoping no one will interrupt me. I pray to The Mini gods every night hoping for a blessing the next morning.”

Grace, Pennsylvania

“I’m a high school math teacher. My second period calculus class loves The Mini, but I see them at 9 a.m., so most of them haven’t done the puzzle yet when they see me. Today I was so excited to tell them that we were learning about 2 Down, but I had to hold it inside so as to not spoil The Mini for them.”

Ari, Florida

“Me and my girlfriend met when she was doing The Mini on the subway and I reached over and corrected one of her answers. Fate works in crazy ways.”

Maude, New York

“My family once got tired of me constantly topping the leaderboard so they all changed their display names to be the same as mine! Each of them claimed they were the winning ‘Alisha.’”

Alisha, Washington

“My favorite Mini memory was waking up in Glacier National Park with a cup of instant coffee and having just enough service to complete The Mini.”

Cal, Kentucky

“My all-time record came unexpectedly. I was showing someone how to access and play The Mini. I just so happened to know every word like clockwork and as I buzzed through the solve they just looked at me like a mutant genius. It was awesome.”

Ben, Indiana

“At a party my ex completed The Mini in eight seconds. I was sure he cheated somehow (which wasn’t out of character), so I started Mini-ing competitively to find out if eight seconds was even possible. I now often complete The Mini every day, with pride or maybe with spite, under 10 seconds.”

Angelina, North Carolina

“Even though my friend and I live more than a hundred miles from each other, we do The Mini every day and send each other our scores. It helps us keep in touch!”

Siri, New Jersey

“These Minis are the reason a few friends and I from college are still so close. No matter how busy our lives are, we can always do The Mini, or even call and rifle through 20 of them together.”

Vishal, New Jersey

“I live and breathe to solve The Mini every day.”

Lily, Massachusetts

“My friend added a bunch of people who were at the top of her Mini leaderboard consistently to a group chat, none of whom knew each other. Now we’re all friends and get together for trivia, movies, etc. — all thanks to The Mini!”

Alexandra, Massachusetts

“My friends and I would all sneakily race each other during [school]. The first time that I ever got a time under 20 seconds, I gasped so loud that the entire class turned and looked at me. To avoid alerting the teacher of our delinquent activities, naturally, I pretended to be swatting an invisible fly away. Who knows if she bought it!”

Lindsey, Texas