The latest installment of the New York Times’ popular word game, Connections, presented a mix of challenges for players on . The puzzle, #977, proved particularly accessible for those with a fondness for baseball, but offered a range of difficulty across its four categories.
Connections, which has quickly become a daily ritual for many, tasks players with grouping sixteen words into four sets of four, based on shared connections. The game’s increasing complexity, mirroring the popularity of other New York Times games like Wordle, has spurred a dedicated online community seeking hints and solutions. Players can now track their progress, including win rates and streaks, within the Times Games section, and even receive a numeric score and analysis via the Connections Bot.
Navigating the Categories: Hints and Solutions
The puzzle’s structure is color-coded to indicate difficulty, with yellow representing the easiest groupings and purple the most challenging. Today’s puzzle followed that pattern, offering a relatively straightforward start before culminating in a more elusive final category.
The initial hint for the yellow category centered around the concept of “to build.” This led players to the grouping of form
, make
, mold
, and produce
– all verbs relating to construction or creation.
Moving to the green category, the clue not mobile
pointed towards words describing things that are fixed or stationary. The solution set comprised fast
, firm
, frozen
, and tight
, all adjectives suggesting a lack of movement or change.
Baseball fans likely found the blue category the most immediately recognizable. The hint, baseball pro, for short
, led directly to the abbreviations A
, Card
, Jay
, and Yank
– representing the American League and various Major League Baseball teams.
The purple category, as often the case, proved to be the most difficult. The clue not king
required a more lateral approach. The solution – dairy
, dancing
, drag
, and May
– all complete the phrase “____ queen,” referencing different types of queens (dairy queen, dancing queen, drag queen, May queen).
Connections: A Year of Challenges
The game’s popularity has led to a growing catalog of challenging puzzles, with some standing out as particularly difficult. According to CNET’s analysis, some of the toughest puzzles to date have involved abstract connections, requiring players to think beyond literal definitions.
Puzzle #5, for example, grouped words related to things you can set
– mood
, record
, table
, and volleyball
. #4 challenged players with one in a dozen
– egg
, juror
, month
, and rose
. Other particularly tricky puzzles included groupings based on streets featured in media (Elm
, Fear
, Jump
, Sesame
) and phrases involving the word power
(nap
, plant
, Ranger
, trip
). Perhaps the most confounding puzzle to date (#1) grouped words that can run
– candidate
, faucet
, mascara
, and nose
.
The ongoing success of Connections highlights the New York Times’ ability to innovate within the word game genre. By offering a unique blend of logic, vocabulary, and cultural knowledge, Connections continues to captivate a growing audience, solidifying its place as a daily mental exercise for word game enthusiasts.
