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September 6, 2026 
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In his print introduction for today’s puzzle, Will Shortz wrote: “John Kugelman, of Gainesville, Va., is a software engineer specializing in cybersecurity. This is his 24th crossword for The Times and his first to include visual clues. John’s father, who test solves all of John’s puzzles, remarked on this one, ‘Boy, that’s going to get some comments.’ In a good way, we hope.” For more on this puzzle, read the Wordplay column.
Please note: This puzzle is intended to have picture clues. If you are solving on an app that hasn’t been updated, you might see a description of the missing image file instead of the intended clue. If you aren’t able to update your app, you can solve online or in print to get the full solving experience. Clue illustrations are by Glenn Harvey.
Introducing Bonus Puzzles
Subscribers can now enjoy fresh spins on Wordle, the Mini, Connections and more every Wednesday. If you don’t see bonus puzzles in your app, don’t fret — they’ll be available to all Games and All Access subscribers in the coming months.
Crossplay Tip
Beefing up your CV: The C and the V are the two tiles in Crossplay with no two-letter words. Thus, if you’re leading the game, these two tiles can be quite effective tiles to block up the board, to the point where it is sometimes better to hold on to these tiles an extra turn or two to use them most effectively to block the board. Other tiles such as the J and the Q have only one two-letter word each, so they can also be quite effective blockers.
Connections Quandary
Here’s the hardest category from Friday, Aug. 28. What connects these four things? See the answer in the P.S.
Strands
Last week’s hardest Strands puzzle was ALL WILL BE REVEALED, from Wednesday, Sept. 2 — 77.26 percent of solvers were able to complete it.
Last week’s easiest Strands puzzle was WITH A LITTLE ELBOW GREASE, from Monday, Aug. 31 — 90.15 percent of solvers were able to complete it.
Strands puzzles last week — from Aug. 28 to Sept. 3 — were easier than those from the week before.
Wordle Weekly Recap
Hardest word: JOIST, from Thursday, Sept. 3.
Average guesses: 4.8, with 10.03 percent of players solving in three or fewer.
Easiest word: INTEL, from Sunday, Aug. 30.
Average guesses: 4.09, with 26.48 percent of players solving in three or fewer.
The Wordle answers last week — from Aug. 28 to Sept. 3 — were slightly harder than those from the week before.
Spelling Bee Hive
Overall, the Spelling Bee hives last week — from Aug. 28 to Sept. 3 — were harder than those from the week before. Of our subscribers who played last week, 40.08 percent hit Genius at least once.
Last week’s hardest puzzle: Saturday, Aug. 29, had the hardest pangram, with only 18.7 percent of users finding it.
Saturday’s pangram: NATIONHOOD
Letter set: T A D H I N O
Relax With Us
Last week, I finally crossed out an entry on my New York summer bucket list: Attend the qualifying tournament for the U.S. Open Tennis Championships. Held the week preceding the Open, the qualifiers feature elite players battling it out for a coveted spot in the tournament’s field. It’s also free to attend, making it an excellent option for fans who want to see world-class tennis without shelling out for the main draw. I had never witnessed the sport at this level in-person, and was struck by how different the view was from the bleachers compared with my living room. Broadcasts rarely seem to capture how low these athletes are able to play the ball, sending it at blistering speeds while barely clearing the net. Hard court slides, already impressive on a TV screen, became almost superhuman when I could appreciate the distance these players traversed in a single propulsive lunge. The graduating tension of rallies took on an immediate palpability; the catharsis of a well-earned point hit like a drug. My only regret was picking a day with uncooperative weather (several matches were postponed). But that just gives me all the more reason to go again next year. And, don’t worry, I still got my Honey Deuce.
How are we doing?
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P.S. The answer to the Connections Quandary is that they all complete the phrase TOP OF THE ____.
