What's new in Pumpkin
Every notable update, newest first — from the very first scoreboard to today. Each one links to the part of the guide that covers it.
- OnboardingLatest
Invite pages show what you're playing for
When you share a Series invite link, the landing page now spells out the stakes right under the name — the cash or unit payout (“$20 + $1/pt”, “6 beers”), the forfeit dare (“Whoever loses does the dishes”), or “bragging rights” if there's nothing on the line. Friends know the deal before they join.
Learn more: Joining a Series - Cycles
Owners start the series with a button
A new Group Series now stays in warm-up until the owner taps “Start the series” — no more starting itself the moment two people happen to submit. Invite everyone first, then start cycle 1 whenever you're ready (the button needs at least 2 players). If someone hasn't played by midnight, nothing is lost: warm-up just rolls to the next day until you start. The button lives right on the warm-up scoreboard and in Admin.
Learn more: How a new Series begins - Sharing
Share where the cycle stands, mid-cycle
Don't wait for the cycle to close to start talking trash. A new “Share progress” button sits right under the live “If the cycle ended now” banner and builds a share image of the standings so far — a “Day N of M” chip, who's leading and by how much, and a suspense headline like “Tim leads by 3 — 2 days left to close the gap” or “Dead heat — Tim & Dawn tied at 12 with 2 days left.” Post it to the group to stir the pot before anyone's won. (Appears once the cycle is past day 1 and someone has pasted a result.)
Learn more: Reading the scoreboard - Stats
Rank + first-earned date on every badge details popup
Tap any badge chip and the details popup now also tells you where this badge sits in your collection ('Your 2nd most-earned Wordle badge') and the date you first earned it in Pumpkin. The rank counts every badge you've ever earned in the same game (Wordle/Connections), folding in NYT-imported counts and streak-tier crossings so it matches the lifetime tally. The first-earned date is Pumpkin-only — imports don't carry per-occurrence dates.
Learn more: Badges & achievements - Stats
Current streaks always visible on the stats popup
Tap any avatar and you'll now see both current streaks side by side under the headline — 🔥 Wordle and 💎 Connections — no matter which one (if either) the playful one-liner picks up top. Zero-day streaks render muted so the indicator is never absent.
Learn more: Stats popup - Stats
Personal badge stats on the avatar popup
Tap anyone's avatar (yours included) and the stats popup now shows every badge they've earned — chip rows under the Wordle and Connections sections in both the This cycle and All-time tabs. NYT-tracked badges (Genius, Wordle in N, Sea of Greens, Perfect Puzzle, Purple First, Reverse Rainbow) lead the row, then Pumpkin-originals sorted rarest-first. Tapping a chip opens its details — your full earning history for that badge across every series you play, plus, on the puzzle popup, a tiny 'prev MMM DD' line under each chip showing the most recent time you earned it before this puzzle.
Learn more: Badges & achievements - Stats
Streak-tier lifetime counts
Streak badges (On Fire, Hot Streak, Untouchable, Ironclad, On a Roll, Puzzle Master, Perfect Week) now show the same subtle '·N' lifetime indicator as every other badge — how many times you've crossed that tier across your entire Pumpkin history. A 14-day perfect Connections run counts as 1 Perfect Week, not 2; the count goes up the next time you string together another 7.
Learn more: Badges & achievements - Stats
Import your NYT badge counts
Now you can screenshot the NYT "Show All Badges" page on the Me tab and import it just like the stats page. The imported counts fold into the small '·N' on every badge chip across the app and on share images — so a Sea of Greens chip can read '·28' the first time it ever fires in Pumpkin. Stats and badges are independent baselines: re-importing one doesn't touch the other, and you can bring in either or both whenever it's convenient. Wordle in 1/2/3/4/5/6, Sea of Greens, Perfect Puzzle, Purple First, and Reverse Rainbow all map cleanly; Hard Mode, NYT streak tiers, and seasonal challenges don't have a Pumpkin equivalent and won't fold in.
Learn more: Lifetime game stats - Stats
Wordle in 2 / Wordle in 3 — louder, prouder
The 2-guess and 3-guess Wordle badges got a refresh. They're now called what they are — Wordle in 2 (🚀) and Wordle in 3 (💎) — and both ride on the puzzle popup and share image so the big wins actually get celebrated. The 1-guess solve still uses NYT's Genius toast (mythic-rare); 4/6+ keep the NYT names too. Old earned-badge entries (Magnificent / Lightning Round / Impressive / Nailed It) translate to the new names automatically — no badge counts get lost.
Learn more: Badges & achievements - Sharing
Share images now show your badges
Earned a badge on a puzzle? It now rides on the share image as a small pill chip below your score — so when you post your Reverse Rainbow Connections or your Hot Start Wordle to socials, the badge goes with it. Up to two badges per image (the rarest two), so the card stays clean.
- Sharing
Share your result on socials, every day
After you paste a result, Pumpkin now pops up a clean share-image preview right away — no more digging for the share button later. One tap Share (or Copy / Download on desktop) sends it to Instagram, your group chat, anywhere. Standout days still get the celebratory framing (Hole in one! / Crash and burn / Reverse rainbow), and ordinary days get a calmer card with just your grid. Pop "Not now" to head back to the scoreboard.
- Stats
Five more badges for the rare moments
Round two of the badge revamp. New Wordle badges: Greens Only (solved without a single yellow tile), Hot Start (3+ greens on your very first guess), and Slow Burn (a 5/6 or 6/6 solve where you had zero greens until the winning row — pure suspense). New Connections badges: Total Scatter (a wrong guess with one of every color — pure chaos) and Two-and-Two Trap (a wrong guess that bridged two real categories). All five tightened against actual fire frequency, so they show up on share tiles only when they're genuinely impressive.
Learn more: Badges & achievements - Stats
Badges are back — rebuilt for impact
Wordle solve-speed badges now use NYT's own toast words (Genius, Magnificent, Impressive, Splendid, Great, Phew). Five new badges call out the rare, brag-worthy moments: Yellow Brick Road (a row of all yellows), In the Bag (heart-attack 6/6 with almost nothing on the board), Streak Saved (the late save that protected your 30+ streak), Heartbreak Run (three or more One Aways in one Connections), and Purple Bust (when Wyna's purple specifically eats your game). Common badges still tally in your lifetime stats but no longer crowd the share tile — the popup now shows at most two of the rarest badges per puzzle.
Learn more: Badges & achievements - Stats
Tap any avatar to peek at their stats
Click anyone's avatar — on the scoreboard, in a recap, anywhere it appears — and a popup shows their stats for this cycle and lifetime. Two tabs: "This cycle" (today's status, wins, averages) and "All-time" (career wins, streaks, perfect counts).
- Scoring
Backfill any missed day this cycle
Missed Tuesday and it's now Friday? Tap that day's tile and paste your share — it'll replace the max-penalty placeholder with your real score for any past day in the open cycle, not just yesterday. Closed cycles stay closed.
Learn more: Playing yesterday's puzzle - Scoring
Play a day you missed
Forgot to play yesterday — not just log it? The guide now shows how to play a past Wordle or Connections (an NYT subscription unlocks the archive, or use a quick phone-date trick), and the missed-day reminder links you straight there so you can still submit it.
Learn more: Playing yesterday's puzzle - Admin
Never miss a join request
When someone asks to join your group, the owner now gets an email and a push notification right away — so a pending approval (which keeps that person from playing) never slips by. These always reach you, separate from the join-notification toggle.
Learn more: Who can join - Design
A What's New page
Pumpkin now keeps a running list of every update — newest first — and each one links to the part of the guide that explains it. Share it to keep your group in the loop.
Learn more: Staying up to date - Stats
Import your NYT lifetime stats
Snap a photo of your NYT stats screen and Pumpkin pulls in your all-time numbers — games played, win rate, streaks, and guess breakdowns — then keeps building on them as you play. They live privately on your profile.
Learn more: Lifetime game stats - Scoring
Add your score in one tap
Pumpkin can now spot a fresh Wordle or Connections result on your clipboard and offer it as a one-tap submit — no pasting. On Android, you can even Share straight from the NYT app into Pumpkin.
Learn more: Faster ways to add your score - Scoring
Catch up on a missed day
Forgot to log yesterday's puzzle? You now have until the next midnight to paste it from your own scoreboard tile — and it counts at face value, with no penalty.
Learn more: What if I miss a day? - Cycles
End a cycle whenever you want
Group owners get an “End cycle now” button right on the scoreboard to wrap a cycle early instead of waiting for the calendar. Each cycle simply runs its set length and rolls into the next.
Learn more: When a cycle starts and ends - Scoring
Play for a dare, not money
Set your group up for a forfeit instead of a cash tally — the last-place finisher each cycle does a named dare (“buys lunch”, “does laundry”), with no money math at all.
Learn more: Cash-style or forfeit - Scoring
Play for beers, ducks, anything
Your group can play for something other than dollars — pick a preset like Bucks, Beers, or Coffees, or invent a custom unit with its own name and emoji. It's just a friendly label; the scoring is identical.
Learn more: Stakes - Admin
Approve new members
Invite links no longer add people automatically — every visitor requests to join and the owner approves or declines them from Admin.
Learn more: Who can join - Sharing
Share your cycle results card
When a cycle closes, share a polished image of the results — winner, full standings, payouts, and highlights like days won and win streak — straight from the recap.
Learn more: Sharing your result - Onboarding
Password resets by email
Forgot-password and join-approval emails now arrive straight in your inbox, so you can reset your own password without anyone forwarding a link.
Learn more: I forgot my password - Cycles
A friendlier start for new groups
A new group waits in a short “warm-up” until at least two players have logged a full day, so nobody competes alone — and friends who join mid-cycle sit out as pending until the next one so they don't skew the scores.
Learn more: How a new Series begins (warm-up) - Mobile
One-tap install on your phone
A clear banner walks you through adding Pumpkin to your home screen on iPhone and Android, with the right steps for your browser. Open tabs also refresh themselves quietly when a new version ships.
Learn more: Install Pumpkin on your phone - Social
Comments & reactions
Leave a comment on anyone's puzzle and react with 👍 😂 😮 🔥. Threads appear in the puzzle popup, get quoted into the end-of-cycle recap, and notify the people involved.
Learn more: Comments and reactions - Scoring
Missed days keep you in the game
Miss a puzzle and you're given the worst possible score for it instead of being dropped, so you stay in the running and can fight back. A clear “MISS” tile shows what happened — tap it for details.
Learn more: What if I miss a day? - Design
Meet Pumpkin
The app got its name, a warm new look built around a real dog named Pumpkin, a redesigned welcome page that explains it at a glance, and a new home at the-pumpkin-app.com.
Learn more: What is Pumpkin? - Cycles
End-of-cycle recap
When a cycle ends you get a celebratory recap — the winner, totals, a day-by-day grid, Best Moments, and who won the most days — as a pop-up the first time and a banner after.
Learn more: End-of-cycle recap - Notifications
Push notifications & reminders
Turn on per-device notifications to get a ping when a friend submits, plus a friendly nightly reminder if you still have a puzzle to log.
Learn more: Push notifications - Onboarding
Try a live demo group
Curious newcomers can explore a real, fully-populated example group — two months of scores and comments — without signing up first.
Learn more: See it in action - Onboarding
An in-app how-to guide
A built-in, easy-to-read guide now explains how to play, install, and use every feature — reachable right from the menu.
Learn more: Quick Start - Admin
Archive or delete a group
Owners can archive a finished group — keeping it read-only for everyone to revisit — or permanently delete one.
Learn more: Archiving a Series - Cycles
Choose your cycle length
When creating a group you can set how many days each cycle runs (1–7), switch between your groups from a header dropdown, and upload one avatar that shows up everywhere you play.
Learn more: Creating your own Series - Onboarding
Bring your own group
Pumpkin opened up to everyone: sign up, create your own private group with an email and password, invite 2–4 friends by link, and run your own scoreboard with custom payout settings.
Learn more: Creating your own Series - Design
A warm, easy-to-read look
The whole app moved to a warm cream-and-amber theme with larger text and a tidy tile logo — easier on the eyes.
- Mobile
A phone-friendly scoreboard
The scoreboard was rebuilt to fit a phone screen with no sideways scrolling, every stats panel got a help icon, and the stats page became shareable without a password.
Learn more: The Game Stats page - Stats
Browse past cycles & deep stats
Flip through past cycles with arrows or a swipe, and dig into a stats-rich history page — skill averages, win/loss records, head-to-head, distribution charts, and lifetime standings.
Learn more: The Game Stats page - Design
Tap a puzzle for the full grid
Tap any result on the scoreboard to pop up an enlarged grid, and add the app to your phone's home screen with its own icon.
Learn more: Reading the scoreboard - Scoring
Live payouts & Yesterday paste
Paste boxes gained Today and Yesterday tabs, and the scoreboard shows a live “if the cycle ended now” payout with per-player amounts, plus a pill marking the last winner you're chasing.
Learn more: Reading the scoreboard - Scoring
The scoreboard begins
The very first version: paste your daily Wordle and Connections share text, watch everyone's scores land live on a shared scoreboard, and have the week's payout worked out automatically — lowest score wins.
Learn more: How it works