This is a puzzlement for many of us. And sometimes a befuddlement. I speak here of a fairly recent and positive development in the newspaper biz: the New York Times’ growing stable of puzzles.

Many of us have become hooked by these addictive daily cerebral challenges: Connections, a connect-four poser that I only rarely solve, and The Mini, a little crossword for those of us who don’t have four hours to invest, usually unsuccessfully, on the full-sized, estimable old Times staple (curse you, puzzle editor Will Shortz). 

Then there’s Wordle, which has become a runaway hit the past two years, with successful solvers having prodigious winning streaks finding a hidden, five-letter word. My wife currently has more than 90 (gasp) straight wins while I plod along at the sub-10-win level. Many Wordlers have posted their puzzle results online, although this seems to have fallen out of favor of late.

I’ve saved the most addictive puzzle for last: The Times’ criminally addictive and absorbing Spelling Bee. 

Six letters are arrayed around a center letter, which must be used in accumulating as many four-letter-or-more words as possible. For example, LESING around the letter A yields SLANG and GLANS, among many others. 

My wife and I usually reach Genius level, which we actually did recently in the car en route to California del Norte.

These days, Across and Down puzzles seem so quaint, almost like Tic Tac Toe.

The Times has upped our games — as well as its balance sheet. 

—Hellloo, Newman: An old buddy, one-time San Francisco TV weatherman Steve Newman, writes a syndicated and comprehensive environmental feature for newspapers called  “Earthweek: A Diary of The Planet.” He called not long ago while driving through Florida.

Newman, a native of that southern state, said, “I just saw two guys having a stick fight.” 

Say What? A stick fight? Please explain.

“I grew up in Florida,” explained Newman, “and stick fights are pretty common down here. It’s two guys on the side of the road hitting each other with sticks.” Modified road rage? 

This charming Florida phenomenon probably helps explain Governor Ron DeSantis.

—We’re down in the San Francisco Bay area for our annual reunion with old friends here. I’d almost forgotten how frenzied life can be in California, and not just the traffic: People here are so busy they book most meetups well in advance. I’m currently making lunch plans for the last week of this month. 

—Southern California is another animal entirely. Here are two of my favorite comedic observations about La La Land: 

 —Comic Steve Kravitz: “Hold a dirty ashtray up to your ear, and you can hear L.A.” 

 —And late comic Richard Belzer had this great line about L.A.’s dominant car culture: “L.A. is the only city in the world where the police will pull you over if one of your speakers goes out.”  

(PT humorist Bill Mann is answering email during his California visit this month.) (newsmann9@gmail.com)