Connections is one of the best puzzle games from the New York Times. The game tasks you with categorizing a pool of 16 words into four secret (for now) groups by figuring out how the words relate to each other. The puzzle resets every night at midnight and each new puzzle has a varying degree of difficulty. Just like Wordle, you can keep track of your winning streak and compare your scores with friends.
Some days are trickier than others — just like other NYT Games favorites The Mini and Strands. If you’re having a little trouble solving today’s puzzle, check out our Connections tips and tricks guide for some good strategies or check out the hints for today’s Connections puzzle below. And if you still can’t get it, we’ll tell you today’s answers at the very end.
How to play Connections
You can play Connections on the New York Times website or with the NYT Games app on iOS or Android.
In Connections, you’ll be shown a grid containing 16 words — your objective is to organize these words into four sets of four by identifying the connections that link them. These sets could encompass concepts like titles of video game franchises, book series sequels, shades of red, names of chain restaurants, etc.
There are generally words that seem like they could fit multiple themes, but there’s only one 100% correct answer. You’re able to shuffle the grid of words and rearrange them to help better see the potential connections.
Each group is color-coded. The yellow group is the easiest to figure out, followed by the green, blue, and purple groups.
Pick four words and hit Submit. If you’re correct, the four words will be removed from the grid and the theme connecting them will be revealed. Guess incorrectly and it’ll count as a mistake. You only have four mistakes available until the game ends.
Hints for today’s Connections
We can help you solve today’s Connection by telling you the four themes. If you need more assistance, we’ll also give you one word from each group below.
Today’s themes
- SANCTUARY
- FOOTBALL GEAR
- CANDY NAMES
- “FREE ___”
One-answer reveals
- SANCTUARY – HAVEN
- FOOTBALL GEAR – CLEATS
- CANDY NAMES – CHARMS
- “FREE ___” – BIRD
Today’s Connections answers
Still no luck? That’s OK. This puzzle is designed to be difficult. If you just want to see today’s Connections answer, we’ve got you covered below:
- SANCTUARY – HAVEN, PORT, RETREAT, SHELTER
- FOOTBALL GEAR – CLEATS, HELMET, JERSEY, PADS
- CANDY NAMES – CHARMS, KINDER, WONKA, YORK
- “FREE ___” – BIRD, FALLIN’, SOLO, WILLY
Connections grids vary widely and change every day. If you couldn’t solve today’s puzzle, be sure to check back in tomorrow.
NYT Connection FAQs
What time does the Connections puzzle change?
The puzzle changes daily at midnight local time.
Who edits the NYT Connections game?
Wyna Liu, who has been editing puzzles at The New York Times since 2020, edits Connections daily.
“A few months ago, a new assignment crossed my desk: Create the game boards for Connections, a category matching game that had recently been greenlighted and was in search of an editor,” wrote Liu in an article explaining her process in June 2024. Most of my puzzle experience has been working with crosswords, and I was excited at the chance to try something different. I’ve enjoyed learning how puzzle editing plays out once a game is greenlighted, and seeing how our team fits into a larger ecosystem.”
On the one-year anniversary of Connections launching earlier this year, Liu posted this TikTok about her favorite puzzles so far:
@thegamesteam 🎉 happy one year anniversary to connections, our newest official NYT game 🎉 #nytgames #nytconnections #nyt