The New York City Subway has unveiled an innovative way to tackle delays: turning them into a game. Riders can now guess when their train will arrive, with winners receiving a free ride and losers getting a lifetime supply of “patience.”

In a move that could only come from the world’s most creatively challenged urban transit authority, the New York City Subway has announced the launch of its new commuter morale initiative: the “Guess the Arrival Time” game. This revolutionary program is designed to turn the city’s infamous and unpredictable train delays into a daily dose of entertainment for millions of beleaguered riders.

The game is simple: commuters are invited to guess when their next train will actually arrive, based on nothing more than sheer intuition, vague announcements, and possibly a spiritual connection to the subway gods. Participants can enter their best guesses via a new feature on the MTA app, which has ironically been updated more times this year than the subway system itself.

Prizes include a free ride (if you’re right), a commemorative “I Survived the L Train” button (if you’re close), and a lifetime supply of something the MTA is calling “patience,” which, much like the city’s budget for subway repairs, is entirely imaginary.

“We wanted to turn frustration into fun,” said an MTA spokesperson, who spoke from an undisclosed location that turned out to be the middle of a stalled train somewhere between 34th Street and Penn Station. “Our research shows that if commuters are busy guessing arrival times, they’re less likely to focus on the crushing despair of their daily commute. Plus, it’s interactive—just like trying to get a straight answer from our staff!”

The game has already sparked a social media frenzy, with New Yorkers eagerly sharing their most outrageous predictions. “I guessed my train would come at 8:05, and it actually showed up at 8:45,” tweeted one user. “Do I get extra points for being pessimistic?”

The MTA has hinted at future expansions of the program, including a “How Long Will the Delay Be?” bonus round, and a “Which Excuse Will They Use Today?” trivia game, where riders can predict whether their train delay will be blamed on signal malfunctions, track fires, or the perennial favorite, “an earlier incident.”

Critics, however, have expressed concern that the game could backfire, leading to even greater delays as passengers become too engrossed in their smartphones to actually board the train. Others have noted that the game seems like a desperate attempt to distract from the fact that, despite frequent fare hikes, the subway system remains as unpredictable as ever.

In response, the MTA issued a statement reminding commuters that “life is a journey, not a destination,” a quote they apparently borrowed from a bumper sticker on the back of a rusty 1998 Honda Civic.

For now, New Yorkers appear to be embracing the new initiative, because let’s face it, when you’ve spent the better part of an hour sweating through your business suit on a sweltering subway platform, guessing the arrival time of a train is just about the only thing left that makes the wait bearable. Or as one exhausted rider put it, “At least now, when the F train never shows up, I can tell myself I was only playing a game.”