Win NYT Connections by treating the board as a logic problem, not a race to click familiar words. Read every entry, propose a narrowly defined connection shared by exactly four words, test that theory against possible alternatives, and submit the group you can defend with the greatest certainty. The puzzle is designed to make several words look compatible, so the strongest solve comes from eliminating overlaps while protecting your remaining guesses.
What NYT Connections asks you to do
The New York Times Help Center describes Connections as a word game about finding themes between words. Each daily board presents 16 words. Your task is to divide them into four groups of four, with every group sharing one connection. There is exactly one intended solution, even though the wording is deliberately constructed so that a word can appear to belong to more than one group.
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A connection may be a straightforward category, such as members of a named set, or a relationship based on language and wordplay. The challenge is not merely spotting four words that seem related. You must identify the specific relationship the puzzle setter intended and show that the other words do not fit it as well.
Where to play and when a new puzzle appears
Connections is available through the New York Times Games website and in the Games and News apps. The game is free to play on all of those platforms. A new daily puzzle is released at midnight in your own time zone, so two people in different regions may receive it at different local times.
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Signing in is optional for access, but the Help Center recommends it if you move between devices. An account lets the service retain your progress so you can continue on another browser or app rather than starting over.
How the board and color levels work
Every solved group receives a color that indicates its intended difficulty. The colors are not instructions about which group you must solve first; they describe how obvious or demanding the connection is expected to be.
| Color | Intended difficulty | What it usually signals |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Easiest | A comparatively direct relationship that careful scanning can reveal. |
| Green | Moderate | A connection that may require a narrower interpretation or some elimination. |
| Blue | Hard | A less immediate association, specialized set, or more demanding reading of the words. |
| Purple | Trickiest | Wordplay, a structural relationship, or a connection obscured by strong red herrings. |
Because color reflects difficulty rather than a required solving order, a player might discover a blue or purple group before the yellow one. The practical goal is to submit the group with the best evidence, regardless of its eventual color.
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- Read the complete board. Look at all 16 words before selecting anything. Note obvious clusters, unusual spellings, words that have more than one meaning, and entries that could function as a noun, verb, name, or abbreviation.
- Generate candidate categories. For each possible cluster, describe the relationship in a short phrase. “Types of knot” is testable; “things that feel related” is not. A useful category should tell you why each member belongs and why near-misses do not.
- Check all four members. Do not stop when three words fit. Search the remaining entries for a fourth that satisfies the same definition without special pleading. If you need to explain one word differently from the others, the category is probably wrong.
- Compare competing interpretations. Before submitting, ask whether one of the four words is needed for a more precise group elsewhere. A broad category can be technically true and still be a decoy.
- Submit the group you are most certain about. OfficeGames’ core advice is to submit the group you are surest of first, not necessarily the one you noticed first. Removing a confirmed set makes the remaining board easier to evaluate.
- Re-read the reduced board. Treat the remaining words as a new puzzle. Connections that looked weak on the full board often become clear once a misleading word has been removed.
- Use the shuffle control when layout is influencing you. Moving the tiles changes their visual neighbors. If you keep seeing an accidental row or column pattern, shuffle the board or inspect one word at a time.
- Confirm the final category before committing. The last group should be supported by a concrete relationship, not simply by the fact that four words remain. State the category to yourself and verify each member against it.
Category patterns worth testing
When a direct theme is not visible, test the following forms deliberately. They cover the common ways a Connections category can be constructed.
Members of a named set
Four entries may belong to a recognized collection: titles in a series, items in a classification, names associated with one field, or elements of a familiar list. The set must be specific enough to distinguish its members from related but excluded items. Ask whether the words share a formal label rather than merely appearing in the same general subject.
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Synonyms or near-synonyms
A group may consist of words with the same meaning or nearly the same meaning. Check part of speech and usage. Four words that can all mean “leave,” for example, need to work in the same grammatical role; a noun mixed with three verbs may signal a different category.
Words that precede or follow a shared word
Look for entries that can pair with one common word before or after them. Test the resulting phrases for ordinary usage and consistent grammar. If one combination is obscure while the others are familiar, treat it as a warning and search for a cleaner explanation.
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Hidden words
A category can be concealed inside the spelling of the entries. Check contiguous letter strings, especially when several words contain an obvious short sequence. The hidden term should occur in the same way for all four members; a one-off rearrangement is evidence for an anagram category instead.
Homophones and sound-based links
Say the words aloud. Different spellings may produce the same sound, or a word may sound like a name or another meaningful term. Confirm the pronunciation in the intended variety of English and avoid forcing a match that depends on an unusual accent.
Anagrams and other letter operations
Rearranged letters, repeated prefixes, suffixes, or shared endings can form a group. Compare the exact letters and operation used by each member. If one entry requires dropping or adding letters while the others do not, it is probably a near-miss.
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Near-misses and deliberately wrong neighbors
Some words are selected because they almost satisfy a visible pattern. A category may contain three obvious examples and one less familiar member, while a tempting fourth word belongs to another group. Treat “almost fits” as a clue to inspect the word’s alternate meaning rather than as permission to broaden the category.
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Overlap is the central trap in Connections. The setter may give you five words that can all be described by a broad label, while only four share the intended, narrower relationship. When that happens, identify the word with the most specific second meaning. It is often the one required by a different category.
Use a two-column mental test for every candidate group:
- Positive evidence: the exact definition or word operation that includes each proposed member.
- Exclusion evidence: the reason the apparent fifth member fails, or why it is more useful in another group.
A category that has positive evidence but no convincing exclusion is not ready to submit. Tighten the wording until it predicts exactly four entries. If you cannot do that, keep the group as a hypothesis and investigate another cluster.
After a correct submission, the four words disappear from the active board. This reduction is more than a visual convenience: it removes the overlap that made the first decision difficult and exposes relationships among the words that remain.
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Protecting your mistake budget
You receive four mistakes during a puzzle, and the fourth incorrect submission ends the game. Because a failed guess consumes one of those opportunities, certainty should matter more than speed.
| Solving approach | Certainty before submission | Category specificity | Handling red herrings | Wordplay checks | Effect on mistake conservation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fast association | Low to medium | Often broad | May accept the first four related words | Usually skipped | Quick when right, but spends guesses on weak theories. |
| Evidence-first elimination | High | Narrow and testable | Requires a reason for the apparent fifth word | Applied when literal links fail | Slower upfront and best for preserving attempts. |
| Wordplay scan | Medium until confirmed | Defined by a shared operation | Separates literal decoys from structural matches | Central to the method | Useful when surface meanings produce too many overlaps. |
A practical rule is to delay any guess that you cannot explain in one precise sentence. You do not have to solve the easiest color first, but you should submit the group with the strongest combination of inclusion and exclusion evidence.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What to do when you are stuck
If you see several possible groups
Write a short label for each candidate and rank them by how exactly they account for four words. Prefer the label that uses a recognized set, a consistent grammatical pattern, or the same letter operation in every case. Then inspect the words left outside that label. If one excluded word is an obvious fit, your first category is too broad.
If five words seem to fit
Assume one is a red herring rather than expanding the definition. Compare the five words for specificity: which four share the same usage, spelling pattern, or membership rule? The leftover word’s alternate meaning often points to the next group.
If nothing looks related
Move beyond subject matter. Check shared prefixes and suffixes, hidden strings, homophones, anagrams, and words that become familiar phrases when paired with the same neighboring word. Inspect the board after shuffling so the original layout does not keep suggesting a false cluster.
If only three members are clear
Keep the trio as a note, but do not submit it. Search for a fourth entry that follows the identical rule, including grammatical form and level of specificity. If the fourth requires a looser interpretation, revisit the three rather than weakening the category.
If the final four feel arbitrary
Reconstruct the categories you have already solved and ask what role each remaining word could play in a different interpretation. The final set should still have a describable connection; “these are the words left” is not a valid category.
A repeatable daily routine
- First pass: read every tile and mark words with multiple meanings or unusual spellings.
- Second pass: test obvious named sets and direct synonyms, but keep broad associations provisional.
- Third pass: look for shared phrase partners and grammatical patterns.
- Fourth pass: inspect hidden words, sounds, anagrams, prefixes, and suffixes.
- Decision pass: choose the candidate with the clearest four-member proof and the strongest explanation for its decoys.
- Reset pass: after each successful group, forget the old layout and classify the reduced board from scratch.
This routine separates noticing from committing. It lets you use fast pattern recognition without allowing the first attractive pattern to consume an attempt.
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The four colors communicate the puzzle editor’s intended level of difficulty, not a sequence that players must follow. A yellow group may be hidden behind an especially persuasive overlap, while a purple group may become obvious once another set is removed. Solvers who insist on finding yellow first can waste time rejecting a well-supported group simply because it looks difficult.
Instead, use color expectations as a diagnostic. If one candidate appears extremely broad and another depends on a precise word operation, the broad one may be a decoy and the structural one may be the harder intended group. Difficulty is useful context, but evidence decides the submission.
Origins and editorial context
Wikipedia records that Connections launched in beta on June 12, 2023. Wyna Liu is credited there as the puzzle writer and editor associated with the game. The format’s signature tension—four correct groups hidden among overlapping meanings—comes from requiring one unique partition while making several partial patterns plausible.
No reliable player-count or win-rate statistic is necessary to understand or solve the game, so those figures should not be used to judge an individual result. A completed board is best evaluated by whether each group has a precise, defensible connection.
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Quick checklist before you submit
- Have you read all 16 entries rather than solving from one corner of the board?
- Can you name the category in a few specific words?
- Does every proposed member satisfy the same definition, grammar, or letter operation?
- Have you identified why the most tempting fifth word does not belong?
- Did you check for a second meaning that places one candidate elsewhere?
- If the literal reading fails, did you test phrases, hidden words, homophones, anagrams, and affixes?
- Is this the group you can defend most confidently right now?
Follow that checklist, submit only a fully supported set, and use each successful removal to re-evaluate the remaining board. That combination of precise category wording, deliberate red-herring checks, and conservative guesses is the most reliable way to find all four hidden categories.
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