What are trap categories in Connections?

Trap categories are decoy groupings where 5 or 6 words seem to fit one theme, but only 4 belong. The leftover words are red herrings planted to waste your four mistakes. Always test overlaps before submitting.

Does shuffling the board actually help in Connections?

Yes. The starting layout often places decoy words next to each other to suggest false groups. Shuffling breaks those visual associations so you judge words on meaning, not position. Use the shuffle button in the tool below.

What do the yellow, green, blue and purple groups mean?

They mark difficulty: yellow is the most straightforward category, green is moderate, blue is tricky, and purple is devious wordplay such as missing letters, homophones or fill-in-the-blank phrases.

Hints for Todays Connections | Daily Help & Answers

Q: Where can I get hints for today's Connections without seeing the answers?

Use the 4-level hint ladder on this page: start with category-type hints, then candidate clusters, then a structural check of your guessed group. Each level reveals a little more, so you stop as soon as the puzzle cracks.

Q: What time does the Connections puzzle change?

The NYT Connections puzzle resets at midnight local time every day. This hints page updates its date and puzzle number automatically each morning.

Today's Connections groups (updated daily)

Paste the day's answers into the slots below and they appear here behind a spoiler. Until then, climb the hint ladder in the tool underneath.

🟨 Yellow group — reveal

Today's yellow category and words will appear here.

🟩 Green group — reveal

Today's green category and words will appear here.

🟦 Blue group — reveal

Today's blue category and words will appear here.

🟪 Purple group — reveal

Today's purple category and words will appear here.

Hint-ladder tool — paste today's 16 words

Copy the 16 words from today's grid, paste them below, then climb the ladder one rung at a time. Your board is saved in this browser only.

Today's 16 words (comma or space separated)

The 4-level hint ladder

Load your board, then open Level 1. Stop climbing the moment the puzzle cracks — that is the whole point of a ladder.

Level 3 check: tap any 4 tiles on your board to select a suspected group, then press the button. It reports structural signals (shared theme-list hits, shared affixes, length spread) — not the official answer.

How to play Connections

You get 16 words in a 4×4 grid. Sort them into 4 groups of 4, each sharing a hidden connection.
Submit a group of 4. A wrong guess costs one of your 4 mistakes; four mistakes ends the game.
Three correct out of four triggers a "one away" warning — treat it as a free clue, not a near-miss to re-submit blindly.
Groups are color-coded by difficulty: 🟨 yellow (straightforward) → 🟩 green → 🟦 blue → 🟪 purple (devious wordplay).

Strategy: trap categories and the shuffle tactic

Trap categories (the 5-for-4 decoy)

The puzzle designer loves planting five or six words that fit one theme when only four belong — for example five tree names where one tree is actually part of a "___ syrup" phrase group. Before submitting a too-easy group, ask: which word here could live somewhere else? The Level 2 cluster scan above flags exactly these overlaps.

The shuffle tactic

The opening layout is not random psychology: decoys are placed side by side to suggest false groups. Shuffle twice — once at the start and once when stuck. Judge every word on meaning, never on its neighbors. Our Connections solver shuffles automatically.

Solve in color order

Lock yellow first (synonyms, plain categories), then green. Leave purple — anagrams, homophones, missing-letter and fill-in-the-blank wordplay — for last, when elimination leaves only four words standing.

▶ Practice Connections free NYT alternative

Frequently asked questions

Where can I get hints for today's Connections without seeing the answers? Right here — climb the 4-level ladder above. Most stuck puzzles crack at Level 1 or 2.

What time does the Connections puzzle change? At midnight local time every day; this page's date and puzzle number update automatically.

What are trap categories? Decoy groupings where 5–6 words fit one theme but only 4 belong. Test overlaps before spending a mistake.

Does shuffling really help? Yes — it breaks false visual associations the layout planted. Shuffle at the start and whenever you stall.

What do the colors mean? Yellow is easiest, then green, blue, and purple — the devious wordplay group — is hardest.

Hints for Today's Connections