Connections refreshes for a brand new brain teaser every day—and this Saturday is no different.
First launched in June 2023, the latest New York Times daily puzzle offering already has a large fan base after the success of other brainteaser puzzles like Wordle.
Playing Connections is simple. Each daily puzzle consists of 16 words separated into four categories. The aim of the game is for the player to figure out the common thread between each category: yellow, green, blue and purple. To use a previous example, a category could be describing measuring instruments, and the answers would be compass, ruler, scale and watch.
However, the game is out to trip you up. Words can often seemingly belong in two categories, adding an extra layer of difficulty. Each word group must have four individual words, with repeated answers not allowed. Groups are more difficult according to their color, with yellow being the easiest, then green, blue, and finally purple being the hardest category.
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While it may seem as if multiple words could fit together, players should be cautious: there is only one correct answer for each group. If all four words are placed into a set, those words will be removed from the board. Each incorrect guess counts towards the mistake tally. Players can make up to four mistakes before the game ends.
Connections‘ creator Wyna Liu of The New York Times explained the different difficulty levels.
“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,” she said. “I saw three areas of potential difficulty that could be adjusted: the familiarity of the words, the ambiguity of their categorization and the variety of the wordplay.”
If you’re struggling, players are permitted to “shuffle” the board, which can help make the puzzle easier. If that doesn’t bring you closer to success, Newsweek can help.
‘Connections’ #321 Clues for Saturday, April 27
Yellow: Words associated with having faith in a person or process.
Green: May happen in your home, particularly in a severe weather event.
Blue: Condensing the point in an easy to understand way.
Purple: Sounds like a name, but not quite.
‘Connections’ #321 Answers for Saturday, April 27
Yellow category: TRUST AS REAL
Yellow words: accept, believe, buy, swallow
Green category: POWER ISSUES
Green words: outage, short, spike, surge
Blue category: SUMMARY
Blue words: abstract, brief, digest, outline
Purple category: NAME HOMOPHONES
Purple words: curt, hairy, kneel, wane
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.
