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NYT Connections asks you to sort 16 words into four groups of four. The most reliable way to improve is to identify a precise theme for each group, test it against plausible overlaps, and submit the group you can explain most clearly—not simply the one you spotted first. These are useful habits, not a guarantee of a perfect solve.
What is NYT Connections?
Connections is a daily word game from The New York Times. Each puzzle presents 16 words, and the goal is to sort them into four sets of four that share a connection. The groups are color-coded Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple, from easiest to trickiest, but the game does not prescribe a solving order. A category might be direct, such as types of fish, or depend on wordplay, such as words that begin with “fire.”
The challenge is that a word can seem to fit more than one category. The Times says each puzzle has exactly one solution and is deliberately designed to create plausible overlaps. That means a group that feels right still needs to survive a check against the other words on the board. The New York Times Help Center explains the game and its access options.
How to solve Connections: a step-by-step method
1. Read all 16 words before choosing
Take in the whole board before selecting a set. A word may have an alternate meaning or role that becomes clear only when you compare it with the other candidates. Committing to the first pattern you notice can make those competing possibilities harder to see.
#1 Best Overall
2. State the category precisely
Before submitting four words, try to describe their shared connection in a few words. “Types of ___,” “words that come before ___,” or “terms meaning ___” is stronger than “these seem related.” If you cannot name the rule clearly, keep testing rather than treating a vague resemblance as proof.
3. Test for overlaps and extra candidates
Check whether a fifth word appears to fit the same category. If it does, the category may be too broad—or one of the words may belong elsewhere because of a second meaning. Reconsider the proposed rule and ask whether it separates exactly four words from the rest.
Rank #2
4. Submit the strongest group first
Choose the set with the clearest definition and fewest plausible alternatives, rather than the first set that caught your eye. Once a correct group is removed, the smaller board may make other relationships easier to recognize. This is a strategy for reducing uncertainty, not a promise that the remaining categories will be obvious.
5. Change the kind of connection you are looking for
If no precise group emerges, deliberately try a different relationship type. Candidate patterns include synonyms, members of a set, words that precede or follow a shared term, hidden words, letter patterns, and homophones. Shuffling can also disrupt a visual grouping habit: it changes the arrangement, not the puzzle’s answers. OfficeGames’ guide to finding Connections groups describes this kind of deliberate pattern search.
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Connections rewards more than quick association. A plausible pattern can be a decoy when one or more words fit another category better. The useful question is not only “Can these four be connected?” but also “Does this rule account for exactly these four, and have I considered the other meanings on the board?”
A 2025 paper by Angel Yahir Loredo Lopez, Tyler McDonald, and Ali Emami describes a dataset of 358 Connections puzzles drawn from June 12, 2023, through June 3, 2024. In a separate experiment, the authors analyzed 100 puzzles selected around a median difficulty rating of 3.0, with three human evaluators and distinct attempt and hint conditions. Participants scored 39.33% in the One Try condition, 56.0% with No Hints, and 60.67% with Full Hints. Those figures describe that paper’s experimental sample and conditions; they are not a general success rate for Connections players. Read the paper, “NYT-Connections: A Deceptively Simple Text Classification Task that Stumps System-1 Thinkers”.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where to play and what to know about access
According to the New York Times Help Center, Connections is available in the NYT Games app, at NYTimes.com/games, on NYTimes.com/theathletic, and in the NYT News app. The daily puzzle releases at midnight in the player’s timezone. The Help Center says sign-in is not required and current Connections play is free; signing in lets an account retain progress across devices and platforms.
The archive has different access rules from the daily puzzle. The Help Center describes the full archive, dating back to June 12, 2023, as a feature for eligible All Access and Games subscribers. Archived puzzles affect some statistics but do not count toward streaks, which are tied to the daily puzzle. Access and subscription terms may change; check the Help Center’s Connections page for current details.
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