Connections is a popular game released by The New York Times in 2023 that challenges players’ vocabulary. It is currently the newspaper’s second-most popular game, behind Wordle. The puzzles are created by Wyna Liu, the puzzle editor at NYT, who cites Brendan Emmett Quigley’s puzzle books as a major influence on her career. Liu keeps a notebook and spreadsheet handy for inspiration when creating Connections games, as she often doesn’t know where a board will go and spends time experimenting with different angles.
To play Connections, players are asked to create four groups of four from a set of 16 words. The categories are color-coded and range from easiest to trickiest with yellow, green, blue, and purple categories. Each category has a theme, and players must correctly match the words to the categories. For example, in a recent game, words such as “sphynx,” “ragamuffin,” “Russian blue,” and “Turkish angora” were associated with the yellow category of “Cat breeds.” The game is free for all users and is released at midnight in the player’s local time zone.
Newsweek offers hints and clues for each day’s Connections game to help players solve the puzzle. For example, for a recent game, the clues were “Deviation” for the yellow category, “Makes a ringing noise” for the green category, “Things traditionally made of leather” for the blue category, and “Last names of talented musicians” for the purple category. Players can check back with Newsweek daily for more hints, clues, and answers to the Connections games.
After players have attempted to solve the puzzle, the answers are revealed at the end of the article. The categories and words for a specific game are provided, such as “Variation from the norm” for the yellow category with words like “Alternative,” “Break,” “Change,” and “Departure.” If players correctly match all the words to their categories, they are congratulated for solving the puzzle. However, if they do not get it right, they are encouraged to try again with the next day’s game, which will be available at midnight in their local time zone.
While waiting for the next Connections game to be released, players can engage in other fun word-based games to keep themselves entertained. With the game being free for all users and providing daily challenges for players to solve, Connections offers a stimulating way to test and expand one’s vocabulary. The game’s popularity and engaging format have made it a favorite among puzzle enthusiasts looking for a mental workout.
