NYT Connections gives you 16 words and asks you to sort them into 4 groups of 4 — each group sharing a hidden category. You get only 4 mistakes before the game ends. Here’s exactly how it works and how to win more often.
How to Play NYT Connections
Every day, the New York Times publishes a fresh Connections puzzle with a 4×4 grid of 16 words. Tap four words you believe belong together, then hit Submit. Get it right and the group locks in, revealing its category and a color. Get it wrong and you lose one of your four mistake dots — make a fourth mistake and the game ends, revealing all the answers.
The puzzle resets at midnight, and like Wordle, you can share your results as a grid of colored emoji squares without spoiling anything for friends.
The Color Difficulty Levels
Each solved group is assigned a color showing how tricky it was — revealed only after you solve it:
- Yellow — the easiest, most straightforward category
- Green — easy, but slightly less obvious
- Blue — medium difficulty, often needs lateral thinking
- Purple — the hardest, usually wordplay: homophones, hidden words, or “___ + word” constructions
5 Tips to Solve Connections Faster
1. Start with the obvious. Scan for the clearest group first — locking in one group removes 4 words and makes the rest easier.
2. Beware red herrings. The puzzle is deliberately built with traps: words that look like they belong together but don’t. If five words fit a category, one is bait.
3. Watch for “One away…” When three of your four picks share a group, the game tells you you’re one away — without saying which word is wrong. Swap candidates in and out.
4. Think about wordplay for purple. The hardest group is rarely a plain category. Think homophones, words that follow or precede another word, or hidden meanings.
5. Shuffle the board. The layout can trick your eyes into seeing false patterns. Hit Shuffle to break the illusion and see the words fresh.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many mistakes can you make in NYT Connections?
Four. Your remaining mistakes are shown as dots; the fourth wrong guess ends the game and auto-reveals the answers.
What do the colors mean in Connections?
Yellow is easiest, then green, then blue, with purple as the hardest category. Each puzzle has exactly one group per color.
Who created NYT Connections?
Associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu, who developed it after a New York Times games department game jam. It launched in beta in June 2023.
Is NYT Connections free to play?
Yes — you can play the daily puzzle free on the New York Times website and the NYT Games app.
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