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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11NYT Connections gives you 16 words to sort into four groups of four. Each group shares a theme, and the challenge is that a word can seem to fit more than one group. The game uses four color-coded difficulty levels; its official statistics track wins and mistakes rather than a published points score.
How to play NYT Connections
- Look over all 16 words on the board.
- Find four words connected by a shared theme, such as four kinds of fish or four words that begin with “FIRE.”
- Select those four words and submit the group.
- Repeat until you have found all four groups or the game ends.
Connections has exactly one intended solution, but its categories may overlap in plausible ways. The New York Times Help Center says the puzzle is designed to be tricky because words can appear to fit multiple categories. Before submitting, check whether one of your selected words may belong to a stronger alternative group.
What the four Connections colors mean
Each group is assigned one of four colors: yellow, green, blue, or purple. The colors indicate relative difficulty: yellow is the easiest category and purple the trickiest. The official explanation does not define a particular connection type for green or blue, so treat the colors as difficulty cues rather than clues to a specific word pattern.
How mistakes and statistics work
Connections documents outcomes through mistakes and player statistics, not a numeric points formula. The New York Times Help Center defines a win as completing a puzzle in fewer than four mistakes. It calls a puzzle solved with zero mistakes a “Perfect Puzzle.” The statistics also include puzzles completed, win rate, current and maximum streaks, and a mistake histogram.
#1 Best Overall
The Help Center’s histogram covers zero through four mistakes. It does not describe a points value for a correct group, so a bot rating or a statistics result should not be read as a score in points.
When the daily puzzle is available
The daily Connections puzzle releases at midnight in your timezone, according to the New York Times Help Center. Connections is free to play without registering and is listed in the Games app, on the Connections page, on NYTimes.com/theathletic, and in the News app. An NYT account is optional, but the Help Center recommends one if you want to retain progress across devices and platforms.
Optional archive and post-game analysis
Connections archive
The archive includes puzzles dating back to June 12, 2023, and is available to All Access and Games subscribers, according to the Help Center. Archive play affects some listed statistics, but not current or maximum streaks. Subscription names and access terms can change; check the NYT Help Center’s Connections page for current details.
Connections Bot
Connections Bot is available to All Access, Home Delivery, and Games subscribers, according to the Help Center. After a game, it can show difficulty comparisons, player-skill and solution-uniqueness ratings, category difficulty and solve order, common mistakes, and a guess-by-guess analysis. These are post-game analysis features, not a points system.
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Sharing results and Sports Edition
The Help Center says players can share results after submitting their last guess. It also says the Sports Edition follows the same rules as the standard daily puzzle.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Official rules and access details
For the current official guidance on rules, statistics, and available features, see The New York Times Help Center: Connections.
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