What is Connections?
Connections is a daily word puzzle published by The New York Times Games team since 2023. Each day you get a grid of 16 words, and they belong to four secret categories of four words each.
You pick four words you think share a link and submit them. Groups are colour coded from yellow (the easiest) to purple (the trickiest, often wordplay). You can make four mistakes before the puzzle ends, so the fun is spotting the red herrings that seem to fit more than one group.
Main Features
- A new 16 word puzzle every day
- Four hidden groups of four, colour coded by difficulty
- Four mistakes allowed per puzzle
- Shuffle button to see the grid in a new order
- Shareable emoji result grid
- Stats and streak tracking
How to Get Started with Connections
- Open nytimes.com/games/connections in your browser
- Read the 16 words and look for four that share a link
- Select four words and press Submit
- Keep going until you find all four groups or run out of mistakes
Connections Pricing
The daily puzzle is free to play. Playing past puzzles in the archive needs a New York Times Games or All Access subscription.
Who Should Use It?
- Word game fans who already play Wordle
- People who like a short daily brain teaser
- Friends and families who compare results in group chats
- Trivia lovers who enjoy spotting wordplay
Connections Alternatives
- Odd One Out: spot the item that does not belong
- Wikitrivia: order events on a timeline
- Codenames Online: word association with friends
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Connections free?
Yes, today's puzzle is free in the browser and the NYT Games app. The archive of past puzzles needs a Games or All Access subscription.
How many mistakes can you make in Connections?
You can make four mistakes. On the fourth wrong guess the puzzle ends and the answers are revealed.
What do the colours mean in Connections?
They show difficulty: yellow is the most straightforward group, then green, blue and purple, which is usually the hardest.