Unraveling The Mind Teaser: A Dive Into Connections From The New York Times

Connections, a wordplay game produced daily by The New York Times, is back with another mind teaser to start your day. This engaging puzzle invites players to think critically and creatively as they categorize 16 words into four distinct groups. Each category is color-coded, representing different levels of difficulty, and challenges players to uncover hidden connections between seemingly unrelated words. As you dive into this delightful game, you will not only sharpen your vocabulary but also enhance your problem-solving skills!

The process of playing Connections requires keen observation and a bit of strategy. Players must recognize that words can often belong to multiple categories, which adds an intriguing twist to the gameplay. Whether you are a seasoned wordsmith or a casual player, the game offers a unique opportunity to engage your mind and have fun simultaneously. Let's take a closer look at how to play Connections and some essential tips that can help you maintain your winning streak!

The free-to-play brainteaser tasks players with grouping 16 words into four categories based on association. Players need to discern the common theme for each category: yellow, green, blue, and purple. The categories are rarely straightforward, using homophones and wordplay, among other techniques, to keep the player on their toes. For instance, a past green category was anagrams, with the answers being pastel, petals, pleats, staple. Another example from the purple category is informal fried appetizers: ring, stick, tender, wing.

Players can be somewhat misled by words that might fit multiple categories, adding to the challenge. Each group, however, must contain four distinct words with no repeats. The difficulty escalates with color, starting with yellow as the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple being the toughest to crack.

The specific color of each category is only revealed after solving it. Players can shuffle the board to possibly simplify the guessing process. The Times' puzzle editor Wyna Liu mentioned that the categories' difficulty varies daily. "Some categories might be defined by their use of wordplay—palindromes, homophones, adding or dropping letters and words—rather than the literal meanings of the words on the cards. I identified three areas where difficulty could be adjusted: the familiarity of the words, the ambiguity of their categorization, and the variety of the wordplay," she said.

Below are some helpful tips to maintain your Connections winning streak—but proceed with caution if you prefer to solve the answers by yourself.