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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →The Wordle-style option is Strikle, and it has two moments. In December 2022, during a 24-hour walkout by New York Times union members, a union member built it so people could keep playing without crossing the picket line. In November 2024, the New York Times Tech Guild published a much wider set of strike-themed browser games, and Strikle was among them. Both are independent projects. The Guild’s own page says its games “are built by union members and supporters and are not affiliated with the New York Times company.”
Strikle: the 2022 original
VICE reported on December 8, 2022 that more than 1,100 members of the New York Times union were on a 24-hour strike, and that they had asked the public to avoid Times platforms, including Wordle. Chris Pitts, an AFSCME Local 1624 member in Austin, Texas, built Strikle for that walkout and posted its code to GitHub. He described the goal this way: “This got me thinking about how it would be cool to create a Wordle alternative so that people could still play without crossing the NYT picket line.”
Pitts built it after hearing that players wanted to honor the picket line without losing their daily routine. The union’s own appeal, as VICE quoted it, used the phrase “break your Wordle streak,” which is the trade-off the puzzle was designed around. According to VICE, the 2022 answer was “SCABS,” and the post-solve message was explicitly pro-union.
That 2022 build is a historical record. The reporting does not say it is still playable, so treat it as a piece of labor history rather than a link you can count on.
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The 2024 Tech Guild collection
The second moment came in early November 2024, when technology workers were striking shortly before the U.S. presidential election. Gizmodo’s Kyle Barr reported on November 7, 2024 that the New York Times Tech Guild promoted a slate of games that included Word Search, Connected, Strikle, Frogger 8th Ave, and Match Strike. The Guild’s statement framed the set this way: “In the great tradition of strike publications, we offer our tech-worker version.” Gizmodo attributed the phrase “scab-free” to that same framing. Treat it as the Guild’s description of its games, not a neutral label.
According to Gizmodo, the strikers’ demands included contract terms without a return-to-office mandate, pay and equity raises to address racial pay disparities, and protections against “just cause” layoffs. Those are the demands as the 2024 report described them. The reporting does not give a current account of bargaining.
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The collection also linked to a GoFundMe. When Gizmodo published on November 7, 2024, about $145,000 had been raised toward a $150,000 goal, and the report said donations were helping workers pay bills. That figure is a snapshot from that date, not the campaign’s current total.
What the Guild directory lists today
The Guild Builds directory, accessed on October 8, 2026, lists eleven titles. The table below uses a format only where the 2022 or 2024 coverage or the title itself makes it clear. “Not stated” means no available source describes the game’s format.
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| Game | Format | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Strikle | Word guessing, Wordle-style (VICE, 2022) | 2022 original and directory; the sources do not confirm the directory build matches the 2022 code |
| Word Search | Word search | 2024 report and directory |
| Connected / Connections: Strike Edition | Grouping, Connections-style (Gizmodo, 2024) | 2024 report (as Connected) and directory (as Connections: Strike Edition); the sources do not confirm they are the same build |
| Frogger 8th Ave | Platform game | 2024 report and directory |
| Match Strike | Not stated | 2024 report and directory |
| Mini Crossword: Strike Edition | Crossword | Directory only |
| Wide Guild Brick Breaker | Brick breaker | Directory only |
| Trivia and Jokes | Trivia | Directory only |
| Scabby’s Fair Contract Builder | Not stated | Directory only |
| STRIKEMAN | Not stated | Directory only |
| Guild Adventure | Not stated | Directory only |
Gizmodo described Connected and Strikle as close recreations of the games they echo. That is the reporter’s characterization. A title’s name alone does not show how closely a game copies its model, so judge each one by playing it.
How to play
- Open the Guild Builds directory on the New York Times Tech Guild’s website.
- Choose a title. Each game opens from a link to a separately hosted site.
- If a game does not load, check the directory’s note. The Guild asks players to pardon bugs. A broken link may mean the game is down or has moved, and the directory does not say which.
- To donate, use the donation link on the Guild page. Any figure you see there is current only as of the day you check it.
What these games do not carry over
- Your Wordle streak. Gizmodo specifically noted that Strikle would not maintain a player’s Wordle streak.
- A single standard of play. The games come from different builders and sit at different levels of polish, so one title’s behavior does not predict another’s.
- A guarantee of current availability. The directory cannot confirm that each third-party game and donation destination still works.
What is current and what is not
The 2022 and 2024 stories are historical. The directory has no visible publication date. The sources here do not establish whether the 2024 donation campaign is still open, what happened in later bargaining, or whether any settlement was reached. Describe the 2024 strike as a past event, not an ongoing one.
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