‘Connections’ is a popular word-based game that was released by The New York Times in 2023 and is the second-most played game behind Wordle. The game’s global popularity has been described as “overwhelming” and “unexpected” by its developer, Wyna Liu. Players are given a table of 16 words that must be grouped into four categories based on themes, ranging in difficulty from yellow to purple. Each category will have four words that need to be correctly associated with the theme in order to progress in the game. There is no time limit, but users only have four tries to get the answers correct.
To play ‘Connections,’ players must carefully consider the themes and associations between the words provided in order to correctly group them into the four categories. For example, a category like “Quick jump in the pool” might include words like “dip,” “dive,” “splash,” and “swim.” If the words are correctly associated with the theme, they will flash in color and be removed from the board. If they are incorrect, they will appear gray and remain on the board. Players can use the “Shuffle” button to give their brains a refresh if they are stuck on a puzzle for a while.
Each day, Newsweek provides hints and clues for the current ‘Connections’ puzzle to assist players in solving the game. The clues are categorized by the level of difficulty, with yellow being the easiest and purple being the most challenging. Players can check back with Newsweek at midnight in their local time zone for a new Connections game to try if they were unable to solve the previous day’s puzzle. The game offers a fun and engaging way for players to test their word association skills and challenge themselves with themed word puzzles.
For the Saturday, October 12th puzzle, Newsweek provided helpful hints and answers for the four categories: “Draped Accessories” for yellow, “To Endure, Allow” for green, “Bird Onomatopoeia” for blue, and “Starts of Cellphone Makers” for purple. Players who successfully associated the words with the themes would have seen the words flash in color and be removed from the board. Those who struggled with the puzzle can try again with a new game on Sunday. With simple rules of play and engaging word associations, ‘Connections’ offers a fun and challenging brainteaser experience for word game enthusiasts to enjoy at their own pace.
