Connections is a popular word puzzle game developed and published by The New York Times Games. The game was first released for PC during its beta phase on June 12, 2023, and has become the second most played game published by The New York Times, following Wordle.
Connections Game Rules
Here are the rules for the Connections game:
- The Connections game can be played by one or more players.
- The focus of the NYT Connections game is to score the most points by correctly guessing the word or phrase being described.
- Only one player will be chosen as the “describer” for each round and will provide a verbal description of the word or phrase to the other players.
- The describer cannot use the word or any part of the word being described, in their description.
- The other players will have a limited amount of time to guess the word or phrase being described.
- The describer cannot provide any physical gestures or clues to help the other players guess the word or phrase.
- When the other players correctly guess the word or phrase within the time limit, they receive a point.
- In the event that the other players cannot guess the word or phrase within the time limit, they will get no points.
- The roles of describer and guesser should rotate among players to ensure everyone has a chance to participate.
- The game can continue for a set amount of rounds or until a certain point goal is reached.
How to Play Connections Game
To play Connections, users can either visit the Connections website or open the New York Times Games app and click on “Play.” The game presents a 4×4 grid of 16 words that initially appear disconnected from each other. The challenge is to find four groups of four words that share a connection.
Connections Words
In this game, players have the freedom to group the words in any order and can make up to four mistakes during the entire game. Some words can even belong to multiple categories, like “apple,” “banana,” “orange,” and “pear,” which could be connected by “fruits” or “foods that start with the letter A.” When a group of four words gets picked up, players can click on “Submit” to see if their selection is the correct sequence.
Connections Categories
The game has four categories, each with a different level of difficulty, marked by a color: yellow (easiest), green (easy), blue (medium), and purple (hardest). Once all the groupings have been identified, they are displayed with their common link and color.
Connections Puzzles
Each player can play the same puzzle multiple times, and a new puzzle is released at midnight in their time zone. The Connections game is available to play on most devices through the NYT’s iOS app or in-browser.
Winning
To win the connections game, you need to score the most points by correctly guessing the word or phrase to be given. Every time you guess correctly within the time limit, you receive a point. The game can continue for a set amount of rounds or until it reaches a given amount of points.
