What is NYT Connections? Connections is a daily logic puzzle created and managed by The New York Times. It is available to play online for free by visiting the Connections website on a computer or mobile device. Alternatively, you can play it on the New York Times Games app, which includes all the publisher’s different games.
NYT Connections Homepage
The New York Times has been offering crossword puzzles since 1942. However, in recent years, it has introduced a variety of new games, including Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed, Tiles, Vertex, and Wordle. The latter became a global phenomenon, inspiring numerous alternatives and spin-offs.
In 2023, the New York Times launched Connections, a game that has gained popularity due to its easy-to-understand mechanics but challenging mastery. The basic rules are simple enough for anyone to grasp, but consistently succeeding in the game can be quite tricky.
How to Play NYT Connections
To play Connections, first visit the Connections website or open the New York Times Games app if you have it installed.
Note: The New York Times website may sometimes prompt you to log in or sign up to play Connections. However, this is entirely optional. If you want to play Connections for free, simply refresh the page.
Click Play, and after a brief introduction explaining how the game works, you will be presented with a grid of 16 words.
The Goal of the Game
The objective is to categorize these 16 words into four groups of four, based on a shared connection between them. You need to identify the correct relationship for each set.
Making Your First Guess
Look for similarities and differences between the words, and try to identify the first group of four words that belong together. Once you are confident in your selection, click on each word and press Submit. If you change your mind, you can click a word again to deselect it or use the Deselect all button below the puzzle to clear your choices.
How the Game Works
- If your group is correct, the words will move to the top of the screen and change color.
- Each group is assigned a color-coded difficulty level:
- Green (easiest)
- Yellow
- Blue
- Purple (hardest)
- You do not need to solve them in order—just find the correct groups.
Mistakes and Lives
If you select an incorrect set of words, they will be automatically deselected, and you will lose one of your four lives. The game tracks your mistakes, and you can see how many errors you have left at the bottom of the puzzle.
Winning the Game
Continue guessing groups until you have correctly categorized all 16 words and completed the daily puzzle, or until you run out of lives. Either way, you will have to wait until midnight in your local time zone for the next puzzle to appear.
Happy puzzling!