Puzzle #1 / 25
Create four groups of four!
How to Play Connections
Study the 16-Word Grid
Look at all 16 words carefully before making any selections. Notice which words could have multiple meanings and which seem to fit obvious categories. The most important step is identifying potential 'traps' — words designed to look like they belong in one group but actually belong in another. Take 30 seconds to scan everything before selecting a single tile.
Select Four Words You Believe Share a Connection
Click or tap up to four word tiles to highlight them. Selected tiles turn dark to indicate your selection. You must select exactly four words before you can submit. If you change your mind about a tile, click it again to deselect it, or use the 'Deselect All' button to start fresh. Use the 'Shuffle' button at any time to rearrange the tiles and see them from a new perspective.
Submit and Read the Feedback
Once you have exactly four tiles selected, press the 'Submit' button. If correct, the group animates into a colored row at the top of the board revealing the category name. If wrong, the tiles shake and one mistake dot is removed. If you see 'One away...' it means three of your four selected words belong to the same group — find the correct fourth word before trying again. The 'Already guessed!' message means you submitted the exact same combination before.
Share Your Results and Play the Next Puzzle
After winning or losing, use the 'Share' button to copy your emoji grid to the clipboard — each row shows the colors of the four words you guessed in that round, without spoiling the actual words for others. Then press 'Next Puzzle' to move on to the next puzzle in sequence, 'Play Again' to retry the same puzzle, or 'New random puzzle' to jump to a random one.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many mistakes am I allowed in Connections?
You are allowed exactly four mistakes in each Connections puzzle. Your remaining mistakes are shown as four filled dots below the word grid. Each wrong guess removes one dot. When all four dots are gone — meaning you have made four incorrect submissions — the game ends and all remaining category answers are revealed. There is no way to earn extra chances, so each guess carries genuine stakes. This limit is central to the game's design: it forces deliberate thinking rather than random guessing. The 'One away...' notification is your only in-game hint, and even that message costs you one of your four allowed mistakes.
What does 'One away...' mean?
The 'One away...' message appears immediately after a wrong guess when three of your four selected words belong to the same group, and one word was from a different group. It tells you that you are very close — you need to swap out exactly one word to find the correct group. However, the message does not tell you which of your four words is the 'wrong' one; that is for you to figure out. Crucially, 'One away...' still counts as a mistake — you lose one mistake token even though the notification seems encouraging. Use it as a signal to reassess rather than a free pass to try again carelessly.
Can I solve the groups in any order?
Yes, absolutely. You can identify and solve the four groups in any order — there is no requirement to start with yellow or to complete them in difficulty order. Many experienced players actually look for the purple (hardest) group first, because the most abstract or wordplay-based connection often illuminates which words do not belong to the simpler groups. Others prefer to start with yellow to gain early momentum. The choice is entirely yours. The only restriction is that once a group is solved, those four words are removed from the grid and you can only work with the remaining tiles.
What happens if I select the same combination twice?
If you attempt to submit the exact same four-word combination that you have already submitted in the current game session, you will see the 'Already guessed!' message and the submission will be blocked — it will not cost you an extra mistake. The game tracks every unique combination you have tried throughout the session and prevents you from wasting a mistake on a combination you already know is wrong. This is a safeguard against accidental resubmission, especially useful on mobile where accidental taps are more common. You will need to change at least one word in your selection to submit again.
How does the emoji share format work?
The share format generates an emoji grid where each row corresponds to one guess you made during the game. Each row contains four colored emoji squares (🟨🟩🟦🟪) representing the actual group colors of the four words you selected in that guess — not whether the guess was correct or wrong. For example, if you guessed four words that all happened to be from different groups, you would see one of each color. This format reveals your reasoning process and how quickly you zeroed in on correct groups, without spoiling the actual words for players who have not yet tried the puzzle. The shared text also includes the puzzle number for context.
What types of connections appear in the puzzles?
Connections puzzles use a wide variety of category types to keep the game fresh and challenge different types of knowledge. Common types include thematic groups (types of pasta, Olympic sports, African countries), cultural references (Taylor Swift albums, Marvel superheroes, 90s sitcoms), wordplay categories (___ + BALL, words with silent letters, palindromes), linguistic patterns (words containing a hidden animal, homophones of numbers, anagrams), and conceptual links (words meaning happy, things in a wallet, shades of blue). The purple group always features the most abstract or tricky connection, while yellow is typically the most straightforward. Each puzzle is designed with at least one deliberate trap word to keep even experienced players on their toes.