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Connections can be a challenge at the best of times, so Newsweek has provided a host of handy hints to help you on your way to word puzzle success.
Launched by The New York Times in June 2023, the brainteaser is now the news outlet’s second-most-played game after Wordle. While similarly word-based, Connections challenges players to uncover threads connecting a series of words.
Instructions on how to play the game are below. Clues and the answers for today’s puzzle are toward the end of the article.
How To Play ‘Connections’
The brainteaser tasks players with grouping 16 words into four categories based on association. For example, Wednesday’s game linked the words “chow,” “eats,” “fare” and “grub,” which all came under the category “food.”
Each of the four categories is labeled with a color, which also signifies their difficulty level. Yellow is the easiest category, followed by green, blue and purple. However, the puzzles are rarely straightforward, using homophones and wordplay, among other techniques, to keep things interesting.
The uniting themes span a wide range of topics, from movie franchises to body parts. Once you have figured out one group, those words are removed from the board. However, players get only four guesses. Each incorrect guess adds to your mistake tally, and after four wrong answers, it’s game over.
Connections also has a shuffle button, which will mix up where the words appear on the screen to help players who might be stuck.
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Explaining why the game has four difficulty levels, NYT puzzle editor Wyna Liu said she toyed with different ways to make the game more of a challenge.
“There would have to be a mix of categories for the game to feel challenging and satisfying,” she said in the NYT. “Some categories might be defined by their use of wordplay—palindromes, homophones, adding or dropping letters and words—rather than the literal meanings of the words on the cards.”
However, the familiarity of the words used, and how often they pop up in modern life, are also difficulty factors, although, less-common words aren’t only used in the harder categories. “Item overlap,” where one word can be linked to multiple categories, is another way Connections tests players.
“Caution was needed when including items that might stand out in the grid, since they would invite immediate scrutiny,” Liu explained.
The answers for today’s Connections puzzle will be revealed at the end of this article, so scroll with caution if you want to work them out yourself.
‘Connections’ #354 Clues for Thursday, May 30
Newsweek has some hints to help you figure out today’s Connections categories.
Yellow: These words represent stealing goods.
Green: For these words, think of the power to attract others.
Blue: These words are associated with different styles that frame your face.
Purple: Each of these answers precedes a word for a thin, sharp piece of metal.
‘Connections’ #354 Answers for Thursday, May 30
Yellow Category: PLUNDER
Yellow Words: Loot, Raid, Rob, Sack
Green Category: INFLUENCE
Green Words: Clout, Pull, Sway, Weight
Blue Category: HAIRSTYLES
Blue Words: Bob, Crop, Fade, Shag
Purple Category: __PIN
Purple Words: Bobby, Hair, Push, Safety
Did you guess the answers correctly? If so, congratulations. If not, there will be another opportunity to crack the puzzle tomorrow.
Connections is released at midnight in your local time zone. Newsweek will be back with another round of hints and tips for each new game.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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