84 What If "Wordle" Had a Battle Pass? (w Jeff Petriello, NY Times Games)

The New York Times has been a gaming company for decades, yet most crossword and puzzle fans don't consider themselves "gamers." This conversation shifted a bit when the Times purchased Internet sensation Wordle in January.Jeff Petriello is a producer at NY Times Games, a digital media vet, and game design professor at New York University. He joins us to discuss how bundling games into subscription services like NYT, Netflix, and Gamepass are changing the perceptions and study of play. He also shares how he guides game design students without hindering their self-expression, why controller input standardization is awesome but creatively limiting, and his current obsession with tabletop monstrosity Gloomhaven.Follow Jeff to keep up with his work: https://www.thebeff.com/Jeff's playing: Gloomhaven (tabletop)Colette's playing: The Chant & more Coral IslandMatt's playing: Tactics Ogre: RebornEmail us with what you're playing and we'll read it on the show! [email protected] our Discord community: https://discord.gg/5xz84B9RRJFollow and subscribe to Colette:https://twitter.com/colettebennetthttps://www.twitch.tv/hellococobeeFollow and subscribe to Matt:https://twitter.com/Matt_Silverman/https://www.youtube.com/c/freedadvideosOur theme music is by Azure Flux: https://azureflux.bandcamp.com/Our logo is illustrated by @JustCallMeKatarina: https://www.instagram.com/justcallmekatarina/ Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/5xz84B9RRJ Subscribe to the show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ColetteAndMattEmail us with what you're playing and we'll read it on the show! [email protected] Follow and subscribe to Colette:https://bsky.app/profile/itscocobee.bsky.socialhttps://www.twitch.tv/hellococobeeFollow and subscribe to Matt:https://bsky.app/profile/mattsilverman.bsky.socialhttps://www.patreon.com/influencepodhttps://www.youtube.com/c/freedadvideosOur theme music is by Azure Flux: https://azureflux.bandcamp.com/Our logo is illustrated by @JustCallMeKatarina: https://www.instagram.com/justcallmekatarina/