Fans of The New York Times mini crossword game were met with a surprise Thursday morning when they found a piece of their online morning ritual is now behind a paywall.

“Finding out the nyt mini crossword is now behind a paywall has done irreparable damage to my spirit,” one user wrote on the social platform X.

“I hope whoever decided to put the NYT Mini Crossword behind a paywall has warm pillows for the rest of their life,” another chimed in.

The Times’s decision to lock the popular mini crossword behind a subscription gate is part of an ongoing broader effort to monetize its growing puzzles, games and quiz verticals.

The company, in a statement to The Hill on Thursday, said it currently offers 10 “distinct puzzles,” calling those options “a rich and diverse portfolio that reflects both the breadth of gameplay and the depth of experiences our team of puzzle editors and constructors has built.”

Other popular games from the outlet, like Wordle, Connections, Strands and Sudoku, remain free to play, the company noted, saying it will “continue to experiment with what works best for our subscribers and explore how Games can contribute even more meaningfully to The Times’s essential subscription strategy.”

The company has invested heavily in puzzles and games in recent years, as it looks to offset print subscriber losses and an increasingly difficult digital advertising market.

Earlier this month, the company told investors it had added nearly 250,000 subscribers during the second quarter of 2025 and remains on track to hits it goal of 15 million by the end of 2025.