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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesTo spot a Connections category without guessing, make the proposed rule explain all four words—and check that it does not also fit another tile. Read the whole board, keep overlapping words provisional, and use confirmed groups to narrow the choices before submitting.
What you are trying to solve
Connections asks you to sort 16 terms into four groups of four. The challenge is not just finding words that seem related; it is finding four complete, distinct sets among tiles that may support more than one tempting association. The New York Times describes the game as finding themes between words and lists NYT Games platforms as places to access it: NYT Help Center: How to play Connections. The task structure is also described in a study published at COLING 2025: Connections Are Not Enough: Revisiting Word Grouping with a Challenging Benchmark.
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A repeatable method for testing a category
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Read all 16 tiles before choosing a set
Scan the full board before settling on the first obvious connection. A literal association can be a useful hypothesis, but other tiles may reveal that it is incomplete or that one of its words belongs elsewhere.
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Put the rule into words
Describe exactly what connects the four candidates. It might be a semantic class, a shared prefix or suffix, a word that can precede or follow each tile, a hidden word, a homophone, or another consistent pattern. “These feel related” is not specific enough to check; a rule should make clear why each word belongs.
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Check for a fifth member
Look across the remaining tiles for another word that fits the same rule. If five or more seem to qualify, the group is unresolved. Do not select four arbitrarily: test whether the apparent extra has a stronger home elsewhere.
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Keep overlap candidates provisional
Some words may plausibly fit more than one category. Note those competing possibilities mentally rather than treating the first plausible match as settled. A candidate set is stronger when its rule accounts for all four words and does not fit another remaining tile just as well.
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Use elimination before submitting
If an overlap remains, work through the clearest categories first. Once a confirmed group is removed, the reduced board may make the decoy or the intended use of an ambiguous word easier to see. Three related words are not enough reason to submit a fourth at random.
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Test wordplay when literal meanings stall
Consider structural links as hypotheses: a shared word before or after each tile, a hidden word, a letter added or removed, homophones, or anagrams. These are possibilities to check, not guarantees about any particular category or color. Practical solver guides also recommend looking for alternate homes and connections across the full board: NYT Games Connections and Tom’s Guide: How to Solve NYT Connections.
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Submit the clearest explanation
Choose the set whose rule is most precise and consistent. If the explanation requires stretching a word’s meaning or ignoring another plausible member, pause and reconsider before committing.
Why a convincing association can still be wrong
A study by the authors of the COLING 2025 paper illustrates the trap. “Normal,” “Standard,” and “Benchmark” may suggest “Status Quo,” but “Normal” belongs with “Dry,” “Combination,” and “Oily” in the category “Skin Types.” The first association is plausible as a partial grouping, yet it does not complete the intended set of four. The practical test is to check the proposed rule against every tile, not just the words that first caught your attention.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What published results can—and cannot—tell you
The COLING 2025 study collected 358 Connections puzzles spanning June 12, 2023, to June 3, 2024, and used 100 puzzles in its experiments. Three human evaluators averaged 56% group accuracy in the no-hints condition and 60.67% in the full-hints condition. The authors describe this human baseline as a small sample, so these figures are study results, not estimates of how all Connections players perform or proof that a particular strategy works. The step-by-step method above is a reasoned approach to the puzzle’s structure, not a guaranteed solve.
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