Explore The Daily Brain Teaser: <em>Connections</em> From The New York Times

Connections refreshes for a brand new brain teaser every day—and this Saturday is no different. The latest addition to the daily puzzle offerings from The New York Times has quickly captured the hearts of puzzle enthusiasts since its launch in June 2023. Following in the footsteps of popular challenges like Wordle, Connections invites players to engage in a fun and thought-provoking activity that sharpens their minds.

Playing Connections is simple yet challenging. Each day, participants are presented with a unique puzzle that consists of 16 words divided into four distinct categories. The objective? To uncover the common link that ties each word together within its category, which may be represented by colors: yellow, green, blue, and purple. For instance, if one category pertains to measuring instruments, the answers could include compass, ruler, scale, and watch.

However, the puzzle is designed to keep players on their toes! Many words can appear to fit into multiple categories, adding an intriguing layer of complexity. Each group must consist of four distinct words, with no repetitions allowed. The difficulty level increases with the color of the categories, starting with yellow as the easiest and ascending to purple as the most challenging.

Woman on phone — A woman looks excitedly at her phone. "Connections" is available on phone, desktop and tablet.GETTY

Players must exercise caution, as only one correct answer exists for each group. Once all four words of a set are identified, they are removed from the board. Each incorrect guess counts toward a total mistake tally, which allows for up to four mistakes before the game concludes. Wyna Liu, the creator of Connections, elaborates on the varying difficulty levels within the game.

According to Liu, “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.” She identifies three factors that contribute to the challenge of the game: the familiarity of the words, the ambiguity of their categorization, and the variety of wordplay involved.

If players find themselves struggling, they have the option to “shuffle” the board, a feature designed to assist in simplifying the puzzle. If that doesn’t help, Newsweek offers additional resources to aid players in their quest for success!