It’s not out of the ordinary for the NYT to beta test new games. Strands launched in beta earlier this year before officially becoming a part of the NYT Games app in June. Digits, a math-based puzzle game, wasn’t as lucky, launching in April 2023 in beta before being shut down a few months later.

Games have been a particularly bright spot for the outlet as it attempts to reach an ambitious goal of 15 million paid subscribers by 2027.