Connections, a word puzzle game that debuted in The New York Times in June 2023, has quickly gained popularity, becoming the second-most popular game on the platform, just behind Wordle. The game challenges players to categorize a set of 16 words into four groups of four, based on shared connections or themes. Each category is assigned a color-coded difficulty level: yellow represents the easiest, followed by green, blue, and then purple as the most challenging. The game’s appeal lies in its clever use of wordplay, homophones, and subtle links between words, requiring players to exercise both logic and language skills to decipher the underlying relationships. The game’s creator, Wyna Liu, suggests holding off on making guesses until confident in the connections, as premature guesses can quickly deplete the limited attempts available.
The core gameplay of Connections involves analyzing the provided 16 words and identifying four distinct groups of four words each. The difficulty levels, indicated by color, range from the relatively straightforward yellow category to the more complex and nuanced purple category. This tiered difficulty system allows players to strategically approach the puzzle, perhaps starting with the easier yellow category to gain momentum and uncover clues that might shed light on the more challenging groups. The words within each category are connected by a common theme, which could be a shared definition, a similar concept, wordplay like homophones, or even a less obvious association that requires lateral thinking. The game also incorporates a shuffle button, which can be a valuable tool for players struggling to spot connections, providing a fresh perspective by rearranging the words on the screen.
Wyna Liu recommends avoiding “rage solving”—making impulsive guesses out of frustration—and instead emphasizes patience and careful observation. She advocates for taking the time to thoroughly analyze the words before committing to a grouping. This measured approach allows for the identification of subtle connections and prevents wasted guesses, especially in the more challenging blue and purple categories where the links between words might be less apparent. Liu’s strategy encourages players to consider all possibilities and avoid premature conclusions that could lead to incorrect groupings and ultimately hinder progress in solving the puzzle.
To illustrate a specific Connections puzzle, let’s consider the example provided in the original text. The Sunday, January 5th puzzle (#574) presented the following categories and words: Yellow (Hardly bustling): Calm, Quiet, Sleepy, Slow; Green (Earn): Gross, Make, Net, Yield; Blue (Remote control functions): Home, Mute, Stop, Volume; and Purple (Words before “drum”): Ear, Kettle, Oil, Snare. This example showcases the diverse nature of connections used in the game. The yellow category focuses on synonyms related to a lack of activity, while the green category uses words associated with earning money or producing a result. The blue category centers on common functions found on a remote control, and the purple category requires players to recognize words that can precede the word “drum” to form compound words.
Analyzing this specific puzzle reveals the varying levels of difficulty incorporated into the game. The yellow category presents a relatively straightforward connection, with all words sharing a similar meaning related to inactivity or peacefulness. The green category introduces a slightly more complex link, requiring players to understand the different contexts in which the words relate to earning or producing. The blue category further increases the challenge, focusing on a specific real-world object and its associated functions. Finally, the purple category presents the highest level of difficulty, requiring knowledge of specific compound words related to “drum.”
This example highlights the strategic element of Connections, encouraging players to begin with the easier categories like yellow and green to gain confidence and potentially uncover clues that might help decipher the more challenging blue and purple categories. The varying levels of difficulty and the diverse nature of the connections ensures that the game remains engaging and stimulating, continually challenging players to think creatively and utilize their linguistic abilities to unravel the hidden relationships between seemingly disparate words. The combination of logic, vocabulary, and strategic thinking required to succeed in Connections contributes to its widespread appeal and addictive nature.
