As a dedicated user of New York Times games, I find a great deal of joy and challenge cracking the daily puzzles. However, my gaming experience and those of countless others like me, is limited by the lack of competitive and collaborative features. Specifically, we want every game on the site, not just the crossword mini, to include a leaderboard. The addition of this feature would motivate users and foster healthy competition by ranking player based on their scores or completion times.

Furthermore, I believe a collaborative mode for crosswords is an indispensable addition for the New York Times gaming platform. Imagine the shared sense of accomplishment when you and a friend crack a particularly challenging crossword puzzle together - remotely. This is not just about making the games more enjoyable, it fact it mirrors a 2015 study by Pennsylvania State University which revealed cooperation in video games improves cognitive skills and boosts team spirit (Penn State News, 2015).

Let us create a gaming community where we can compete, collaborate, learn, and grow. These changes would make the gaming experience even more enjoyable, and would likely bring in even more users, benefitting the New York Times themselves. Thus, I urge the New York Times games to take this petition into consideration and take the necessary steps to make these feature additions a reality. Please sign this petition if you too believe in an improved, more inclusive gaming experience.