If you love a good brain teaser, Connections from The New York Times is a game you’ll want to check out. It’s a daily word puzzle that challenges you to find hidden links between words. You’ll be given a set of 16 words, and your goal is to sort them into four groups of four based on common themes. Sounds simple, right? Well, not so fast—some words could fit into multiple categories, but there’s only one correct way to group them.
The game resets every night at midnight, so there’s always a fresh challenge waiting for you. Some days are a breeze, while others will have you scratching your head. Just like Wordle, The Mini, and Strands, Connections keeps track of your winning streak, so you can see how well you’re doing over time—and, of course, compare scores with your friends.
How to Play NYT Connections
The game presents you with a 4×4 grid of words, and it’s up to you to figure out how they’re related. These connections could be anything—movie franchises, shades of a color, types of dance moves, famous landmarks, or even slang terms.
- Click on four words you think belong together and hit Submit.
- If you’re right, those words will be grouped, and you’ll see the theme revealed.
- If you’re wrong, it’ll count as a mistake. You can only make four mistakes before the game ends.
To make things easier, you can shuffle the words around to get a fresh perspective. The game also uses a color-coded system to indicate difficulty:
- Yellow: The easiest category to figure out.
- Green: A bit trickier, but still manageable.
- Blue: Now it’s getting challenging.
- Purple: The hardest category—if you get this right, you’re a true puzzle master.
NYT Connections hint
If today’s puzzle has you stumped, don’t worry—we’ve got some hints. Below are the four hidden themes for today’s Connections game:
CELLPHONE MODES
EVADE
WHAT “W” MIGHT STAND FOR
___ STRING
Need an extra nudge? Here’s one word from each group to get you started:
AIRPLANE (for cellphone modes)
DODGE (for evade)
TUNGSTEN (for “W” words)
DRAW (for ___ string)
Today’s Connections Answers
If you’re completely stuck and just want the solution, here it is:
CELLPHONE MODES – AIRPLANE, DO NOT DISTURB, RING, VIBRATE
EVADE – DODGE, ESCAPE, LOSE, SHAKE
WHAT “W” MIGHT STAND FOR – TUNGSTEN, WATT, WEST, WIN
___ STRING – DRAW, HAM, HEART, SHOE
Each day brings a brand-new Connections puzzle, so if today’s challenge was tough, come back tomorrow for another shot. Happy puzzling! 🧩