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NYT Connections is the daily word-grouping game from The New York Times: you're shown a 4×4 grid of 16 words and have to sort them into the four hidden groups of four they secretly belong to. It sounds simple until you notice that several words look like they fit more than one group — that overlap is the whole puzzle. For today's groupings and the solved board, see the Connections hints and answer page; this guide covers how the game works and how to beat the traps.
What is Connections?
Connections launched in 2023 and quickly became the NYT's second-most-played game after Wordle. Every day there's one grid of 16 words and exactly four categories. Your job is to find all four groups using no more than four mistakes — a fifth wrong guess ends the game.
How the colors work
Each of the four groups has a difficulty color, revealed as you solve:
- 🟨 Yellow — the easiest, most straightforward group.
- 🟩 Green — a little trickier.
- 🟦 Blue — harder, often a specific category.
- 🟪 Purple — the hardest, and almost always wordplay: puns, hidden words, "_ + a common word," or answers that share a prefix or suffix.
You don't pick the colors — you select four words and submit; the game tells you if all four share a group. "One away" means three of your four were right.
Strategy that beats the traps
- Don't grab the obvious group first. Connections is built around decoys — four words that look like a clean category but actually belong in different groups. The obvious quartet is often the trap.
- Find the purple (wordplay) angle early. If four words could all precede or follow the same word, or all become new words with an added letter, that's usually the purple group — and pulling it out clears decoys from the others.
- Identify the overlap word. When a word could fit two categories, work out which group can't survive without it. That tells you where it really belongs.
- Solve from certainty, not speed. Begin with the group where all four words have only one plausible home. With four mistakes as your entire budget, a confirmed group is worth more than a fast guess.
- Stuck at "one away"? Swap the most generic word. The word that felt like it could belong anywhere is usually the one in the wrong group.
A few quick facts
Connections is free on the NYT site and app, refreshes once per day, and gives you four mistakes before the game ends. Purple is consistently the wordplay group, so when you're hunting the trickiest four, think puns and hidden words rather than plain categories.
For today's four groups and the full solved grid, head to the Connections hints and answer page, updated daily.
FAQ
How many mistakes can you make in Connections?
Four. You can make up to four wrong guesses; a fifth incorrect group ends the game before you finish the board.
What does the purple group mean in Connections?
Purple is the hardest group and is almost always wordplay — puns, hidden words, shared prefixes or suffixes, or words that pair with a common term. When you're hunting the trickiest four, think wordplay rather than plain categories.
What does 'one away' mean in Connections?
It means three of the four words you submitted belong to the same group, but one does not. Swap out the word that felt like it could fit almost anywhere.
Is Connections free?
Yes. Connections is free to play on The New York Times website and the NYT Games app.
What time does Connections reset?
A new Connections puzzle unlocks at midnight your local time.
What order should I solve Connections in?
Start with the group where all four words have only one plausible home, and try to spot the purple wordplay group early — pulling it out removes decoy words from the other categories.
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Daily Connections hints, answers, and trivia — sent fresh at midnight ET.