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NYT Connections puzzle #961 is the game for Tuesday, January 27, 2026. The daily puzzle appears at midnight in each player’s local timezone, so the puzzle number is the clearest way to identify this edition. Use the hints below in order, then open the answer key only when you are ready for spoilers.
Hints for Connections #961
Connections presents 16 words that must be divided into four groups of four. The categories become more difficult as you move from yellow toward purple, and overlapping meanings are intentional. These clues give you a graduated path without revealing the full groups immediately.
- A fun person
- Hockey player
- His merry men and woman
- Initially seen as Yankee Stadium
More direct group clues
- Quite the laugh
- NHL team member
- First words of Robin Hood character names
- Starting with baseball gear
Spoiler warning: the answers
The complete word board is BATMOBILE, FRIAR, CARD, ROBIN, JOKER, BASEMENT, PENGUIN, CHARACTER, SHERIFF, DEVIL, CAPSTONE, FLYER, RANGER, MAID, BALLROOM, and CUTUP.
QUITE THE LAUGH
CARD, CHARACTER, CUTUP, JOKER
Each word can describe an amusing or entertaining person. “Character” is the broadest-looking entry, which helps make this group easy to overlook.
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NHL TEAM MEMBER
DEVIL, FLYER, PENGUIN, RANGER
These are singular forms taken from NHL team names: New Jersey Devil, Philadelphia Flyer, Pittsburgh Penguin, and New York Ranger. They are not four general hockey positions or player types.
FIRST WORDS OF ROBIN HOOD CHARACTER NAMES
FRIAR, MAID, ROBIN, SHERIFF
They begin familiar character names such as Friar Tuck, Maid Marian, Robin Hood, and the Sheriff of Nottingham. The category depends on the first word of each name, rather than on four independent descriptions of people.
STARTING WITH BASEBALL GEAR
BALLROOM, BASEMENT, BATMOBILE, CAPSTONE
Each word starts with a baseball-related term: ball, base, bat, or cap. The rest of each word points away from baseball, making this the puzzle’s most deceptive wordplay group.
Why this board creates traps
Several entries suggest pop-culture or superhero connections. A solver’s personal account in TechRadar described initially grouping ROBIN, BATMOBILE, PENGUIN, and JOKER, then making two mistakes before finding the intended categories. That is one player’s route through the puzzle, not an objective difficulty rating or a statistical measure of performance.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →The apparent Batman set is deliberately unstable: ROBIN and JOKER fit Batman associations, while PENGUIN also looks like a villain and BATMOBILE is an unmistakable vehicle. The official game nevertheless has one intended solution. As the New York Times Help Center explains, “Each puzzle has exactly one solution and is meant to be tricky by having words that could fit into multiple categories.”
How to approach similar Connections puzzles
1. Look for exact sets, not merely related words
A plausible theme is not enough. Test whether all four entries fit the same grammatical form, naming convention, or word-building rule.
2. Protect words that have several obvious associations
Entries such as ROBIN, JOKER, PENGUIN, and BATMOBILE can support tempting but incomplete themes. Leave them uncommitted until a fourth word makes the category precise.
3. Check prefixes and shortened forms
The baseball group works because the opening chunks—ball, base, bat, and cap—are the relevant units. Reading only whole-word meanings can hide this kind of category.
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4. Use the board’s remaining words to verify a theory
After proposing a group, ask whether the 12 remaining entries can still form three clean groups. A set that leaves awkward leftovers is usually a trap.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Playing and finding older Connections puzzles
NYT says Connections is free to play on its Games app, the Connections page on NYTimes.com, NYTimes.com/The Athletic, and the News app, without requiring registration or sign-in for daily play. The daily game releases at midnight in the player’s timezone.
The official archive contains puzzles dating back to June 12, 2023, but archive access is limited to All Access and Games subscribers. Archive games count toward completion and win statistics, but not streaks, and a completed archive puzzle cannot be replayed. NYT’s Connections Companion community forum offers hints, comments, and difficulty scores; its comments may contain spoilers.
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