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March 29, 2026 
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Today’s puzzle, by Michael Schlossberg and his 15-year-old son, Oliver, exposed me as someone who doesn’t drive, though I still enjoyed it very much. Caitlin Lovinger gives a fantastic overview of how this puzzle works in the Wordplay column.
Puzzles You May Have Missed
Crossplay Tip
Learn the short words: Plays that run parallel to words already on the board can be valuable. These plays, which some players call overlaps, will probably make two- or three- letter words in the direction that’s perpendicular to your main word. Knowing less common short words such as XI, EX, ZAX or ZIN will make overlaps easier and more profitable. Keep an eye out for short words that you know but may not immediately notice. For instance, if a Y is on the board, you may expect to need a vowel next to it for AY (or the less common OY). Noticing BY and MY is harder!
Connections Quandary
Here’s the hardest category from Saturday, March 21: What connects these four things? See the answer in the P.S.
Strands
Last week’s hardest Strands puzzle was SPRING FEVER, from Friday, March 20 — 76.19 percent of solvers were able to complete it.
Last week’s easiest Strands puzzle was IN PIECES, from Monday, March 23 — 90.03 percent of solvers were able to complete it.
Strands puzzles last week — from March 20 to 26 — were much harder than those from the week before.
Wordle Weekly Recap
Hardest word: BEFIT, from Thursday, March 26.
Average guesses: 4.53, with 13.17 percent of players solving in three or fewer.
Easiest word: SLICK, from Saturday, March 21.
Average guesses: 3.77, with 39.94 percent of players solving in three or fewer.
The Wordle answers last week — from March 20 to 26 — were a little harder than those from the week before.
Spelling Bee Hive
Overall, the Spelling Bee hives last week — March 20 to 26 — were a lot harder than those from the week before. Of our subscribers who played last week, 32.73 percent hit Genius at least once.
Last week’s hardest puzzle: Saturday, March 21, had the hardest pangram, with only 24.43 percent of users finding it.
Saturday’s pangram: VULPINE
Letter set: E I L N P U V
Relax With Us
I’ll be keeping it simple this weekend: The huge magnolia tree in my backyard has just started to bloom, so I’ll be sitting on my fire escape with a baseball game on the radio. Probably more than one. What are you going to do to relax this weekend? Email me at crosswordeditors@nytimes.com.
How are we doing?
We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to crosswordeditors@nytimes.com.
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P.S. The answer to the Connections Quandary is that they are all 20th-century American poets.
