This week, the New York Times Games team has launched a limited-time beta release of Digits, a new math-based game available to everyone and free to play. Led by General Manager Jonathan Knight, the in-house Games team designed Digits to challenge players by presenting them with six numbers that they must combine using common mathematical operations to reach a predetermined total.
Digits, along with other new games, is beta tested publicly in the mobile Play section of the New York Times homepage. During this beta test, the team monitors for any bugs and addresses only the most urgent ones that could impact gameplay or scoring. Diving into fixing all issues might interfere with the beta test responses.
The greenlight committee uses the test results to decide whether to proceed with the development phase, where the game is coded, and the designs are finalized. If the game’s response does not meet the team’s expectations, the committee must determine whether further tuning would be beneficial or if the game’s development should be halted.
Digits’ scoring system differs from Wordle, as it awards players points based on their proximity to the target number. Players who hit the target number precisely earn three stars, while those within 10 or 25 of the target receive two and one stars, respectively (if you’re struggling with the game, we have posted answers to it).
Digits’ gameplay involves combining numbers using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to reach the target. Players do not need to use all of the numbers, and operations resulting in fractions or negative numbers are not accepted. New puzzles are released daily at midnight.
Last year, the NYT acquired Wordle for a reported seven-figure sum to expand its digital subscription base. The popular word game continues to captivate daily players, and the NYT aims to achieve similar success with Digits among math enthusiasts.
You can play Digits for a limited-time via the NYT mobile app or on The New York Times’ website.
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