Play Connections: NYT in Your Browser

Connections: NYT background

Connections grew out of an internal New York Times Game Jam, where staff pitched ideas for new games for the Times' app and website. It spent about a year in development and was released in beta on 12 June 2023.

Each day's puzzle is written by Wyna Liu, an associate puzzle editor at the Times who also works on the crossword. Connections quickly became one of the most-played games in the New York Times Games lineup, second only to Wordle, and its popularity led to spin-offs such as a sports edition run by The Athletic, which launched in beta in September 2024.

How to play Connections: NYT

The board shows sixteen words or phrases. Your task is to sort them into four groups of four that share a hidden link, such as a category, a wordplay pattern or a common follow-on word. Several words are often placed to look as if they belong to more than one group, so the puzzle rewards caution. Each correct group is removed from the board and revealed with its theme. A wrong guess counts as a mistake, and four mistakes end the game. Groups are colour-coded by difficulty, from yellow (most direct) through green and blue to purple (trickiest).

1. Open the page and start today's puzzle.
2. Tap or click four words you believe share a connection.
3. Press Submit to check the group; use Shuffle to rearrange the remaining words if you get stuck.
4. Keep going until all four groups are found or you run out of the four allowed mistakes.