How to Play NYT Connections

What is Connections?

NYT Connections is a daily word puzzle from The New York Times. You are given 16 words and must sort them into four groups of four, where each group shares a hidden connection.

The rules

  • Select four words that you think belong together and submit your guess.
  • If correct, the group is revealed with its category name and colour.
  • If wrong, you lose one of your four allowed mistakes.
  • Find all four groups before running out of mistakes to win.

What do the colours mean?

Each group has a difficulty colour:

  • Yellow — Easiest. Usually the most straightforward connection.
  • Green — Moderate difficulty.
  • Blue — Hard. Connections may be less obvious.
  • Purple — Hardest. Often involves wordplay, puns, or obscure knowledge.

Tips and strategies

  • Start by looking for the easiest, most obvious group first (usually yellow).
  • Watch out for words that could belong to multiple categories — these are traps.
  • Think about less common meanings of words. A word like "mine" could mean a place underground, a possessive pronoun, or a verb meaning to extract.
  • Purple categories often involve a twist. Look for patterns beyond simple meanings.
  • If stuck, process of elimination can help narrow down the remaining groups.

When does a new puzzle come out?

A new Connections puzzle is released daily at midnight Eastern Time. Our hints are typically available within minutes of the puzzle going live.

How to use our hints

Our hints are structured as progressive reveals. For each colour group, you can:

  1. See the hint — A vague clue about the category theme.
  2. See the group name — The exact category title.
  3. See the words — Reveal each word individually.

Reveal only what you need. Start with the hint and try to work it out before revealing more.