The New York Times’ Connections game is the most fun I’ve had on the internet

A friend of mine asked me if I had figured out today’s Connection, and the text I send back was nothing short of puzzled. “What is a Connection?” I asked.

Little did I know that I would soon be discovering my new favorite word game since Wordle, which I thought was impossible, but I’m here to tell you that you, too are about to become obsessed with Connections.

We all remember Wordle, the word guessing game that took the internet by storm at the start of 2022, but now we have Connections, which dare I say, is even more fun than Wordle could ever be.

The premise of the game is super simple: match the given words into groups of four based on what they have in common, or what connects them.

The connections can be super simple, like fruits, articles of clothing or cities. More times than not, however, the connections are super tricky, and you really have to think hard about it.

Connections changes every day, so each morning you have a new puzzle to figure out, much like Wordle. You get four chances to guess the four connections, which really isn’t a lot of tries with how tricky these puzzles can be.

By just playing one of Connections, you will understand just how tricky the writers of the game are trying to be. For instance, a few days ago, one of the categories ended up being “shirt features,” and the connecting words were button, collar, cuff and pocket. However, they also included the word tie, which was a part of a different category. They try and throw you off with little red herrings, and it really gets tricky!

Here’s another example. One day, there were a few words that had to do with bowling. Ball, pin, lane and alley were all there. So was spare, which is also a bowling term. Spare was used in a different category, alongside the words extra, copy and backup. That category was backup words. Spare could easily be used in both categories, and I guessed it in the bowling category until I realized it could also be used in a different category.

Just like the Wordle popularity, there are themed versions of Connections that are popping up all over the internet. I’ve seen a sports connections game to a pop culture themed Connections game.

If you want to play Connections, just click the link here. Like I said above, you can only play it once a day!