Keegan Michael-Key wants to crush your Wordle dreams.
The actor, writer and comedian collaborates with The New York Times on a new marketing campaign for its New York Times Games division, including Wordle, the word game the Times bought last year.
The push includes a contest in which users share their scores of Wordle, Spelling Bee and the crossword puzzle on social media, tag their friends and use the hashtag #NYTGamesChallenge. Winners get swag or other prizes. But the main prize? Michael-Key in their group chat with friends and family.
“I’m going to play to win,” says Michael-Key The Hollywood Reporter in an interview. “I will have to be as competitive as possible. I am a competitive man. So I want to say it’s no big deal, but I’m going to try to draw blood.
Games have become a critical focus for the Timewhich has leveraged its leadership in crossword puzzles to develop a slew of offerings, many of which are pun-based (besides Wordle, Spelling Bee has become a popular daily challenge).
Now it’s looking to bolster engagement with its offerings, and its social media marketing push is just the latest attempt at that. Earlier this week the Time announced Wordle Golf, a competitive expansion to the game intended to encourage users to play Wordle in competition with their family and friends.
And now Michael-Key, an outspoken fan of the New York Times Games, is joining in.
“It’s the legacy of something like August as the New York Times, that I was honored to be asked to be a part of this campaign and a part of this program,” said Michael-Key. “Remember, they’ve been doing this with regard to games since the ’40s, and it’s been such an integral part of The New York Times. It’s all the news that’s fit for print, but it’s also all the games that’s fit for print.”
And yes, Michael-Key has his own Wordle group chat, joined by his brother-in-law, sisters-in-law, an old childhood friend, and her husband.
“To my regret, it’s her husband who kills it,” he says. “It’s like this guy, can you please go one day without coming in three? He is great.”
Now he says he’s excited to start a new group chat, with strangers, and find out “what’s their dynamic, how do they play the game and how competitive are they?”
“Are they going to take it easy with me? Or will they go after me like a pack of wolves?” he adds. “Who knows, because the dynamics are so different between each group of people playing these games, so it’ll be fun to slip into someone’s Wordle group chat and see what their dynamics are.”
