Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions about NYT Connections, designed to give you a quick understanding of the game and enhance your solving experience.
Here are some frequently asked questions about NYT Connections, designed to give you a quick understanding of the game and enhance your solving experience.
The NYT Connections puzzle does not get consistently harder throughout the week, unlike the NYT Crossword. The daily difficulty can vary.
You can make up to four mistakes before the game ends.
If you make four incorrect groupings, the puzzle ends automatically.
Yes, every puzzle includes exactly four groups of four words each.
The groups go from Yellow (easiest) → Green → Blue → Purple (hardest).
Yes, each group is tied by a common category or connection, such as synonyms, pop culture, or wordplay.
Only one solution is accepted per puzzle. Some word groupings may seem logical, but only one set matches the game’s intended answers.
The new puzzle is released at midnight Eastern Time every day.
No, once the puzzle ends, you can’t replay the same day’s puzzle unless you use a workaround or play on a different device/browser.
Currently, no official archive is available for Connections puzzles.
So far, groups and answers are unique, though themes may sometimes feel similar.
Yes, Connections is currently free to play, even without a subscription.
No, but creating an account allows you to save your progress and see your stats.
Connections often involve tricky wordplay, obscure categories, or unexpected links, making the final group especially challenging.
Look for pairs of obvious words first, test small groupings, and watch out for red herrings (words meant to mislead you).
Generally, no. Most words are familiar, but their connections can be abstract or pop-culture based.
No score is given. The game focuses purely on solving the four groups in as few tries as possible.
Yes, you can share a color block grid showing how many tries it took you to solve the puzzle.