One puzzle a day, the same for everyone: sixteen words that fall into four groups of four. You have four mistakes. A new puzzle arrives at midnight Eastern Time.
How the daily puzzle works
Tap four words that share something and press Submit. A right answer turns them into a colored bar; a wrong one costs a mistake, and One away tells you three of the four were right. The colors show how tricky each group is, from yellow (plain sets of things) through green and blue (synonyms, fill in the blank) to purple, where the link is in the letters or the sound of the words.
Every puzzle is built from our own list of 329 categories, and a program checks each one against every word on the board, hidden words and compound words included, so there is always exactly one solution. The daily list already runs 1,100 days ahead, and no category comes back within a month.
Keep your streak going
Solve the puzzle on consecutive days to build a streak; the stats button shows your win rate, perfect games and how many mistakes your wins took. When you finish, share your result as a grid of colored squares that shows the order of your guesses but never the words. Finished early? Unlimited groups has a new puzzle every round, and our daily word puzzle is waiting too.
Hints and past puzzles
Stuck? The groups hints page starts with a gentle clue for each color and only then names the groups and their words. Missed a day? The archive has every past daily puzzle with its answers and an explanation of the trickiest group.
Frequently asked questions
When does the daily puzzle change?
At midnight Eastern Time (New York), together with our daily word puzzles. Everyone plays the same sixteen words that day.
How does the streak work?
Solve the daily puzzle on consecutive days and your streak grows. Miss a day, or run out of mistakes, and it starts again. Your stats stay in this browser; no account needed.
Where are the answers?
Every daily puzzle has its own page in the archive with the four groups, their names and a short explanation. For today, the answers stay hidden until you tap them, and the hints page gives you one clue at a time first.
Is this the NYT Connections puzzle?
No, and we never publish its answers. Our puzzles and categories are original. Connections is a trademark of The New York Times Company; this site is not affiliated with it.
Can I play more than one?
Yes. Unlimited groups has 3,000 more puzzles, with a new one every round.