NYT Connections asks you to sort 16 words into four groups of four. If you need help, the safest way to avoid spoilers is to decide how much you want revealed before opening a hint or community page. To protect a daily streak, finish that day’s puzzle before midnight in your local time; a missed cutoff breaks the streak, and the New York Times says it cannot be reset.
How NYT Connections works
Each daily puzzle has 16 words and one intended solution: four groups of four. The challenge is that words can appear to fit more than one category. The New York Times says its editors curate the words and categories using the Oxford Dictionary. Groups are color-coded by difficulty: yellow is easiest and purple is trickiest. Read the NYT Connections Help Center overview.
Where to play and when the puzzle resets
Connections is free to play without registering or signing in. It is available through the Games app, the Connections page on NYTimes.com, NYTimes.com/The Athletic, and the News app. The daily puzzle releases at midnight in your timezone. The NYT recommends signing in if you want your progress to carry across devices or platforms.
How to get hints without spoiling the puzzle
Use the Connections Companion carefully
The NYT Connections Companion is a community forum on the gameplay page where players can read hints, post comments, and see a difficulty score. Comments may contain spoilers, so finish the puzzle first or scroll cautiously. The Companion is not available inside the Games or News app. NYT Connections Companion details.
#1 Best Overall
Separate editorial hints from in-game help
The official Help Center information cited here describes the Companion, but not a graded in-game hint system. Daily hint articles from publications such as Tom’s Guide are external editorial guidance, not a feature inside Connections. Choose the least revealing level of help that gets you moving, and avoid opening answer sections until you are ready to see solutions.
Reduce mistakes before submitting
Because several words can plausibly belong together, state or write down the category you think connects a proposed set, then check that all four words fit that same meaning. Also compare the proposed group with the remaining tiles before submitting. This is a practical way to address the intentional overlap in the puzzle; it is not a quoted NYT strategy.
Rank #2
How many mistakes can you make?
The official Help Center page cited here does not specify an allowed-mistake count. Tom’s Guide reports that after four mistakes the answers are revealed, but treat that as secondary-source guidance rather than an official rule stated by the NYT FAQ. The game’s statistics do track mistakes, including a histogram of mistake counts.
How Connections streaks and statistics work
Connections statistics are linked to your NYT account. The stats page tracks puzzles completed, win rate, current and maximum streaks, perfect puzzles, and a histogram of mistakes. The Help Center says its statistics cover puzzles played from June 15, 2024 onward. To have a solve count toward your current streak, finish before midnight local time. Completing the puzzle after midnight breaks the streak and starts a new one; the NYT says a broken Connections streak cannot be reset. NYT Connections statistics and streak rules.
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What the archive and Connections Bot do
Archive puzzles
The archive is available to All Access and Games subscribers and includes puzzles dating back to June 12, 2023. Archive play can change completed-puzzle, win-rate, perfect-puzzle, and mistake-distribution statistics, but it does not change current or maximum streaks; those count only the puzzle released that day. Once you complete an archived puzzle, you cannot replay it. NYT information on the Connections archive.
Connections Bot
Connections Bot is available to All Access, Home Delivery, and Games subscribers. It offers difficulty comparisons, ratings, category information, common mistakes, and guess-by-guess analysis. The NYT lists availability on the iOS and Android News apps and on the web. It is a post-game analysis tool, not a requirement for playing the daily puzzle. NYT Connections Bot and statistics details.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to share your Connections results
After you submit your final guess, the statistics page appears with a Share Your Results option. Available sharing methods depend on your device. The copy button lets you paste your result into a text field, such as a social post, email, or text message. Before sending, preview what you copied and consider whether the format could reveal more than you intend; the NYT does not guarantee identical spoiler handling across platforms. NYT sharing and Connections feature information.
Quick Recap
Quick choices for help and analysis
| Option | What it offers | Access and spoiler considerations |
|---|---|---|
| Connections Companion | Community hints, comments, and a difficulty score | On the gameplay page; comments can contain spoilers; unavailable in Games and News apps |
| Editorial hint article | Hints supplied by an outside publication; scope varies by article | Outside the game; inspect the page carefully for answer reveals |
| Connections Bot | Ratings, category information, common mistakes, difficulty comparisons, and guess analysis | For All Access, Home Delivery, and Games subscribers; web and iOS/Android News apps |
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