IMO the NYT goes too far with its copyright/trademark claims. A few months ago several small-time amateur hobbyist Wordle-clone GitHub repositories were deleted due to NYT DMCA takedowns.
Considering I read this headline as "Wordle in legal row with geography spinoff, Wordle" ... I think this is an entirely valid trademark dispute. Yes, NYT goes too far with copyright/trademark claims, but this one seems like an issue where reasonable minds could disagree.
"But if You Don't Defend Your Trademark You Might Lose It!"
- The 'Safety Lawyer' Who Never Gets Fired Or Laid Off