The New York Times Connections Explained

Connections is a word puzzle developed and published by The New York Times as part of The New York Times Games. It was released on June 12, 2023, during its beta phase. It is the second-most-played game that is published by the Times, behind Wordle.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Gameplay

In Connections, the goal is to divide a grid of sixteen words into four groups of four such that the words in each group belong to a specific category (e.g., "dog", "cat", "fish", and "parrot" for the category "Household Pets").^[4] The categories may involve wordplay such as palindromes or homophones, increasing the difficulty. When a player successfully identifies a group, its category is revealed along with a color-coded difficulty level: categories are rated yellow, green, blue, or purple, with yellow being the most straightforward and purple being the most difficult. Each Connections game has one category from each difficulty level.^[5]

For April Fools' Day of 2024, the game temporarily used emojis instead of words.^[6]

Development

The games department of the Times hosts an annual game jam in which participants suggest ideas for upcoming games to release to the website.^[7] Connections had been in development for a year before releasing in its beta phase on June 12, 2023.^[8] Wyna Liu, editor of the Times and Connectionss puzzles, was inspired by cartoonist Robert Leighton, who made puzzles involving wordplay.^[9]

Several people associated with Only Connect, a British television quiz show, have commented on the similarity between Connections and the Connecting Wall segment of the program.^{[10] [11] [12]}

Sports edition

On September 24, 2024, The Athletic, in partnership with The New York Times Games, launched a sports edition of Connections in beta. The sports edition features the same gameplay as the regular version, with each grouping sports-themed.^{[13] [14]}

Notes and References

1. News: Valinsky . Jordan . August 28, 2023 . Move over Wordle, the New York Times might have found its next hit game . September 4, 2023 . CNN Business.
2. News: Miller . Chance . August 28, 2023 . Connections puzzle game comes to NYT Games app on iPhone and iPad . September 4, 2023 . 9to5Mac.
3. News: Silberling . Amanda . August 28, 2023 . Connections is The New York Times most played game after Wordle . September 4, 2023 . TechCrunch.
4. News: Morris . Chris . August 15, 2023 . NYT Connections, and the company's quest to create the next Wordle . September 4, 2023 . Fast Company.
5. News: Liu . Wyna . 2023-06-26 . How Our New Game, Connections, Is Put Together . 2024-03-03 . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331.
6. Web site: Hart . Jordan . April 1, 2024 . The NYT Connections game got an April Fools' Day makeover, and users are freaking out . May 29, 2024 . MSN.
7. News: Amlen . Deb . April 10, 2023 . How We Make Games at The Times . . September 4, 2023.
8. News: Webster . Andrew . August 28, 2023 . The New York Times new word game Connections rolls out on mobile . September 4, 2023 . The Verge.
9. News: Jeffrey . Joyann . August 29, 2023 . Connections is the NYT's new Wordle alternative. Here's how to play . September 4, 2023 . Today.
10. News: Abdul . Geneva . 15 June 2023 . What connects Only Connect and New York Times? Game's similarity puzzles host . 1 September 2023 . The Guardian.
11. 1668765486056718339 . VictoriaCoren . Do you know this has been a TV show in the UK since 2008 ?! It's so similar I guess you must do? . 14 June 2023 . 26 January 2024.
12. Web site: 2023-06-19 . The New York Times Latest Puzzle Seems Awfully Familiar . 2024-01-09 . Kotaku.
13. Web site: Effress . Sarah . September 24, 2024 . What is Connections: Sports Edition? Explaining the new twist on New York Times' viral game . October 31, 2024 . Sporting News.
14. Web site: Cooper . Mark . September 25, 2024 . Try playing The Athletic’s first game, Connections: Sports Edition, now in beta . October 31, 2024 . The Athletic.