Latest news with #JonathanKnight
The Verge
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Verge
The New York Times is starting to test its take on Scrabble
The New York Times' games team is trying something new: it's about to start testing a Scrabble -like game it calls Crossplay, but instead of folding the game into the main NYT Games app, Crossplay will be a standalone app. The game is soft launching in New Zealand on iOS on Tuesday. I was recently shown a demo of the game by Jonathan Knight, head of games at the New York Times, and I think it will look familiar to any fans of Scrabble or Words With Friends. The game takes place between two players. Each turn, your goal is to build a word out of the up to seven letter tiles on your tray and the letters already on the board. Every letter has a different point value, and you can boost your score by taking advantage of bonus tiles on the board that multiply your letter or word scores. (The New York Times did not provide screenshots I could publish; Knight says that a screenshot of the game right now doesn't represent where it will be when it launches more widely.) 'We're really presenting a very pure, classic, elevated version of the game' The NYT has a few of its own tweaks to differentiate Crossplay from similar games, including different positions for bonus tiles and a different letter distribution, Knight says. The end of the game has a clever twist, too: after all of the letter tiles have been drawn from the virtual bag, each player gets just one additional turn instead of having to clear their tray of tiles to end the game. Knight argues that Crossplay is its own app because it's an experience that would be hard to fit in another app. 'We're very specifically wanting to reach all new audiences with this game,' particularly people that love to compete and love word games, he says. Crossplay requires a free NYT account to play, and your friends from the main NYT Games app will carry over, Knight says. 'Certain aspects' of the game will be exclusive to paid subscribers, such as a feature that will help you review your matches. But he says Crossplay won't have many of the things that can make other free mobile games frustrating. 'In a world where mobile games have become little mini casinos and it's often hard to find the game itself behind all of the treasure chests and friction and aggressive monetization tactics and coins and all of that, we're really presenting a very pure, classic, elevated version of the game that you can just get in and enjoy without all that business,' Knight says. The NYT's acquisition of Wordle arguably kicked off the ongoing arms race for daily puzzle games, with places like Hearst, LinkedIn, Netflix, and Zynga putting their own stamps on the genre. Overall, the NYT's games business is growing, according to Knight, including 'tremendous downloads' and growing app use and subscriptions. NYT puzzles were played 11.1 billion times in 2024, according to statistics shared with The Verge by NYT spokesperson Jordan Cohen. Wordle was played 5.3 billion times, '3.3 billion successful Connections were made,' and Strands, the NYT's word search game, was played 1.3 billion times. The NYT games team is still developing new puzzles for the main games app, such as Pips, a logic game, that it started beta testing in Canada in April.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
GP surgery to remain shut over mystery illness
A GP practice will remain closed until the end of the week due to ongoing safety concerns, the owners have said. Caister Health Centre was first closed on 29 April after 16 people fell ill, and again on Tuesday as a "precautionary measure". The practice said the fire service had worked with gas engineers from Cadent and with Anglian Water but no concerns had been identified so far. A spokesperson for the health centre said patient appointments would be rearranged at other surgeries, and that patients would be contacted with further information. Jonathan Knight, the practice's executive manager, said further tests would be carried out at the site in the coming days. "We're going to engage experts in air quality to come down and try and advise us whether there's any cause for concern," he said. "The steps we've taken so far have been precautionary measures, and so far there has been no concern found. "But we want to make sure, for the safety of our patients and staff, that remains the case." The GP practice said it had contacted other people who had visited the surgery on the day 16 people fell ill and none had similar symptoms [Andrew Turner/BBC] The building's dental practice and pharmacy, which originally opened as usual this morning, decided to close later in the day. The GP practice urged patients to order their prescriptions over the phone or via the NHS App instead. Emergency services were called to the practice on 29 April when four of the 16 people who fell ill took themselves to hospital. The practice reopened the following day. Four fire engines, two ambulances and a police car where then sent there on Tuesday afternoon after a number of staff felt slightly unwell. Network gas operator Cadent confirmed it was called back to the site, but the gas had already been turned off after last week's incident. Mr Knight said the building's landlord had been made aware of the issue. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. More on this story Related internet links
New York Post
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
New Kids on the Block star Jonathan Knight let fans ‘kidnap' him on tour
This New Kid was Kid-napped. Being on the road 360 days a year took its toll on New Kids on the Block star Jonathan Knight — so while he was on tour, he would ask fans to take him away from all the madness. 'Back in the day, I used to let fans kidnap me. I would always find somebody who was a little older who had a driver's license. You're walking through the venue or they're outside a fence and you're like, 'Hey, what are you doing? You want to take me somewhere?'' he told The Post. Advertisement 'I would jump in their car and we'd disappear. My manager used to get so mad because he was always afraid that I wouldn't get back in time.' Knight, 56, a Boston native, said he 'needed some self care to just deal' with NKOTB's tour schedule at the height of their fame in the '80s and '90s. 4 Jonathan Knight was 16 when he joined New Kids on the Block. Alamy Stock Photo Advertisement 'It was nuts. Our manager and our record company, they just pushed you. Being a young kid just not even really knowing who you are as a person, we really had no time outside of our career to figure out what life is all about. And I think that that's sad,' he said. The beloved boy band formed in 1984 and achieved superstar status in 1988 with the release of their second album 'Hangin' Tough' — and to date, have sold over 80 million records worldwide. 'You're not prepared for the level of success we had, ever. There's nobody there to coach you. It's either sink or swim and you could just become really f–ked up and do stupid things … or you could just deal with the stress and the craziness and get through,' he said. 4 New Kids on the Block formed in 1984, split in 1994 and then reunited in 2008. Courtesy Everett Collection Advertisement In 2000, Knight revealed he suffered from generalized anxiety, and in 2011, he came out as gay — both of which he kept hidden during the band's first run, from 1984 to 1994. Although it would have been easier to open up about those topics now, he still doesn't wish he was a young performer in today's world. 'That's probably the only two things that would be cool, but I actually wouldn't want to be an artist nowadays,' he said. 'When we would go out to a nightclub and stumble out maybe a little tipsy or drunk, there was no TMZ or people filming and it just gets broadcast for millions of people to see.' Advertisement Knight, the oldest of his bandmates — who include his brother Jordan, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood — was the first to leave the group in 1994 when he was 25, before they officially split that same year. 'I remember going home and I was in a eight bedroom, six bathroom house that I bought and looking up and down the halls like, 'Okay, now what the hell?'' 4 NKOTB will kick off their The Right Stuff Las Vegas Residency in June. Austin Hargrave The guys reunited in 2008 after a 14-year hiatus and 'it's funny that we've been back together now longer than we were in the first go-around,' Knight noted. As he preps for NKOTB's The Right Stuff Las Vegas Residency, which starts on June 20, Knight looked back on the band's heyday — and all the memorabilia created for them. 'There was so much cheesy stuff … slippers and marbles and puzzles. In the moment, we were like, 'This is so stupid.' But now that I'm older, I'm like, 'It's kind of cool. There's my face on a pack of bubblegum.'' 4 Jonathan and Jordan's mom Marlene had an eBay sale of the band's memorabilia she collected. Alamy Stock Photo His mother, Marlene, collected double the amount of New Kids items since two of her sons are in the group. Advertisement 'She had so much stuff in her basement and a couple of years ago, I was like, 'Mom, just get rid of it, it's taking up too much space.' So she had a big eBay sale.' He has no idea how much she earned from it — he's just content the clutter has dissipated. 'I didn't ask. I was just happy that now when I go in her basement, I can walk around and not have to scoot by a Donnie doll or trip over a Joe doll.'
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Yahoo
Police arrest Zachary firefighter, woman accused of sexual misconduct with juvenile
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — The Zachary Police Department arrested a pair accused of sexual misconduct involving a juvenile. According to ZPD, officers were alerted of the possible sexual misconduct involving a juvenile, which launched an investigation into fireman Jonathan Knight, 40, and the victim's mother, Tara Bizette, 46. After a thorough investigation, including search warrants, reviewing evidence, and interviews, both suspects were arrested and booked on charges of contributing to the delinquency of juveniles and molestation of a juvenile. No further details were immediately available. RFK Jr. calls for CDC to stop recommending fluoride in drinking water Louisiana bill would require college students to take anti-hazing course under 'Caleb Wilson Act' Debate over SNAP work requirement heats up Police arrest Zachary firefighter, woman accused of sexual misconduct with juvenile Baton Rouge-based bat maker hits home run with MLB's torpedo bat craze Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
