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How to play

How to play Connections

Connections is the New York Times' daily grouping puzzle. Sixteen words hide four groups of four that share something. To play Connections, select four words, submit, and a right group is set aside. You may make four mistakes; the fifth ends the game.

  • One puzzle a day
  • Four groups of four
  • Four mistakes
CARD GAMESPOKER, BRIDGE, SNAP, RUMMYTHINGS WITH KEYSPIANO, MAP, LOCK, KEYBOARD___BALLSNOW, FOOT, BASKET, MEAT___FLYBUTTER, DRAGON, FIRE, HOUSE
A Connections grid of our own, solved.
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The rules

  1. SNAPBUTTERPIANOSNOWDRAGONMAPPOKERFOOTFIRELOCKBASKETHOUSERUMMYMEATKEYBOARDBRIDGE

    Sixteen words, four groups

    Every word belongs to exactly one group, and every group has four words.

  2. CARD GAMESPOKER, BRIDGE, SNAP, RUMMYBUTTERPIANOSNOWDRAGONMAPFOOTFIRELOCKBASKETHOUSEMEATKEYBOARD✓ Right

    Four at a time

    Select four words and submit. If they are a group, they leave the grid and the group's name is shown.

  3. CARD GAMESPOKER, BRIDGE, SNAP, RUMMYBUTTERPIANOSNOWDRAGONMAPFOOTFIRELOCKBASKETHOUSEMEATKEYBOARD✗ Not allowed

    One away

    A wrong four costs a mistake. When three of the four belong together, the game says you are one away: here FIRE makes a fireball, but it belongs to another group.

From sixteen words to four groups

A grid of our own, where BUTTER and FIRE fit two groups:

  1. SNAPBUTTERPIANOSNOWDRAGONMAPPOKERFOOTFIRELOCKBASKETHOUSERUMMYMEATKEYBOARDBRIDGE

    The sixteen words

  2. CARD GAMESPOKER, BRIDGE, SNAP, RUMMYTHINGS WITH KEYSPIANO, MAP, LOCK, KEYBOARDBUTTERSNOWDRAGONFOOTFIREBASKETHOUSEMEAT

    Card games and things with keys found

  3. CARD GAMESPOKER, BRIDGE, SNAP, RUMMYTHINGS WITH KEYSPIANO, MAP, LOCK, KEYBOARD___BALLSNOW, FOOT, BASKET, MEAT___FLYBUTTER, DRAGON, FIRE, HOUSE

    BUTTER and FIRE settled: solved

Where to play, and the controls

  1. Open nytimes.com/games/connections in a browser, or Connections in the NYT Games app.
  2. Tap four words, then Submit. Deselect clears your choice.
  3. Shuffle moves the words around, which often shows a group you had not seen.

Tips that solve it faster

  • Find the trap first

    Look for a group with more than four candidates. Here SNOW, FOOT, BASKET, MEAT, BUTTER and FIRE all make a ___ball: two of them belong elsewhere, and that is the trap.

  • Start with the sure group

    Submit the group you are surest of. Every group set aside leaves fewer words, and the hard ones get easier.

  • Think of other meanings

    Read every word for a second sense: MAP and PIANO both have keys, BRIDGE is also a card game. The obvious meaning is often the decoy.

  • Fill in the blank

    The hardest groups are wordplay: words before or after another word, hidden words, sounds. Try putting one word in front of each, or after it.

  • Spend mistakes slowly

    Before you submit, check that the four could not swap with another word. A guess you are not sure of costs one of only four mistakes.

  • Shuffle when stuck

    When the groups will not come, shuffle. A new order breaks the pairings your eyes keep making.

Questions

What is Connections?

A daily puzzle from The New York Times: sixteen words, four hidden groups of four. One puzzle a day, the same for every player.

How many mistakes can you make in Connections?

Four. A fifth wrong guess ends the game, and the groups are shown.

What does 'One away' mean in Connections?

Three of the four words you submitted belong to one group, and one does not.

What do the colours mean in Connections?

The game colours each group by how hard it is: yellow is the easiest, then green, blue, and purple, the hardest.

Can a word fit more than one group?

Several words often seem to fit two groups, but only one way of sorting all sixteen works. That overlap is the puzzle.

Connections is a game by The New York Times. AWA GAMES is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by The New York Times. The boards on this page are our own.

Last updated .