Connections

What is Connections?

Connections is the New York Times daily: sixteen words, four hidden groups of four. Difficulty colors run yellow (easiest) through purple (wordplay and traps). Four wrong submits end the puzzle. Words that could sit in two categories are the designed bait.

Play happens on the official NYT Games site. This listing is a directory page, not a clone of their board.

Connections Game Rules

Select four words and submit. A correct set locks, reveals the theme, and leaves the rest. A miss spends one of four mistakes. Overlaps are intentional. Purple is usually last for a reason. A new grid publishes daily on NYT Games.

• Sort 16 words into four themed groups of four.
• Four mistakes allowed on Connections.
• Yellow to purple marks category difficulty.
• Official play is on the New York Times Games site.

How to play Connections?

Press Play on this listing to open official Connections. Bank a clean yellow group if you have one, then treat leftover homographs as purple candidates, not as a fifth fish.

1. Scan the 16 Connections words for an unambiguous quartet.
2. Submit only when you can name the connection.
3. Use the revealed theme as negative space for the rest.
4. Save the trickiest four for when twelve or eight words remain.

Connections Strategy & Tips

Three that fit plus a tempting fourth is a mistake farm. If a word could be sports and also a verb, it may be the purple. Do not burn errors on a maybe-blue. Solve order is part of the share card; accuracy still comes first.

• Never submit Connections fours you cannot title.
• Watch words that belong in two plausible groups.
• Leave purple-shaped leftovers until the grid is small.

FAQ about Connections