Tidy Baby: NYT Connections Creator Launches Word Game

A new word game titled Tidy Baby has been released to the public. The game is a collaboration between Wyna Liu, known for her work on NYT Connections, and another developer. It draws heavy inspiration from the classic card game SET, adapting its core mechanics to a linguistic format rather than visual attributes.

In Tidy Baby, players are tasked with forming sets of three cards. The game relies on three specific dimensions to determine valid sets: word length, part of speech, and visual style. The release includes a timed mode where players must select the correct card from a grid to complete a set. The developers also introduced a scoring system that rewards partial matches, adding a layer of complexity to the gameplay.

The core gameplay of Tidy Baby is derived from the legendary card game SET. While SET utilizes four dimensions—shape, number, color, and shading—Tidy Baby reduces this to three linguistic and stylistic dimensions. The goal remains the same: players must identify a set of three cards where, for each dimension, the attributes are either all the same or all different.

The specific dimensions utilized in the game are:

• Word Length: Words are restricted to 3, 4, or 5 letters.
• Part of Speech: Words are categorized as a noun, verb, or adjective.
• Style: Words appear in either bold, underline, or italic formatting.

Unlike the traditional SET gameplay, Tidy Baby introduces a "partial set" mechanic. Players are awarded points for sets that are valid on one or two dimensions, even if they fail to meet the criteria on all three. The game also features a solitaire-style mode where players are presented with two game cards and a grid of up to nine candidates, requiring them to pick the correct third card to complete the set before a timer expires.

The creators of Tidy Baby encountered specific linguistic hurdles during the game's development. The most significant challenge was ensuring that every word used in the game was unambiguously classified as a single part of speech. This was particularly difficult given the game's reliance on short words.

The developers expressed surprise at the difficulty of finding three-letter words that functioned exclusively as adjectives without also being common verbs or nouns. This constraint required careful curation of the game's vocabulary to ensure the mechanics functioned correctly. Despite these difficulties, the team successfully implemented a system that supports the game's unique constraints.

To accommodate different player preferences, Tidy Baby offers three distinct "paces" or difficulty levels. These modes allow players to adjust the speed and intensity of the gameplay to their liking. The difficulty settings are named:

• Steady: A relaxed pace for casual play.
• Strenuous: A moderate increase in difficulty.
• Grueling: The highest difficulty setting, intended for experienced players.

The inclusion of these paces mirrors the progression systems found in classic educational software, providing a scalable challenge for users.

Tidy Baby represents a creative adaptation of the SET formula, transforming visual pattern recognition into a linguistic challenge. By combining the mechanics of a classic card game with the vocabulary constraints of word puzzles, the game offers a unique experience for fans of both genres. With its release, the game invites players to test their ability to spot patterns in language under time pressure.