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Connections is easily one of the most fun and addictive word games you’ll find from The New York Times. Think of it as a brain teaser that gives you a grid of 16 random-looking words and asks you to figure out how they secretly relate to each other. Your mission? Group them into four sets of four, based on a common theme that might not be obvious at first.
Each night at midnight, a fresh puzzle drops, so there’s always something new to tackle the next day. And just like Wordle, you can track how many puzzles you’ve solved in a row, and even see how your streak stacks up against your friends.
Some days the connections are crystal clear. Other days? They’ll have you scratching your head for way too long — kind of like NYT’s Strands or The Mini. If today’s puzzle has you stumped, don’t stress. You can peek at our hints and strategy tips, and if you’re still stuck, we’ll spill the answers at the end so you don’t go to bed with a brain cramp.
So, how do NYT Connections work?
Here’s the basic idea:
You’re shown 16 words in a grid. These aren’t just random — they can be grouped into four categories with a shared theme. For example, the categories might be something like:
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“Types of Pasta”
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“Shades of Blue”
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“Video Game Titles”
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“Chain Restaurants”
The catch? Some words can look like they fit into more than one category, so it’s easy to get tripped up. You can shuffle the grid around to see new patterns or word combos — sometimes a simple shift makes all the difference.
Once you think you’ve found a group of four that belong together, hit Submit. If you’re right, the group disappears and the game will tell you what the theme was. But be careful — you only get four wrong guesses before the game ends for the day.
Each category comes with a difficulty color:
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Yellow = Easiest
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Green = Medium
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Blue = Hard
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Purple = Most challenging of all
NYT Connections hint: Here’s a sneak peek at today’s puzzle (April 4)
Themes to look out for:
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Leftover items or amounts
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Road trip-related words
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Places where baseball is played
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Company names with the letter “E” removed
If you want just one hint from each group:
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Balance belongs with “what’s leftover”
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Cruise is from the car trip group
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Diamond is a classic baseball clue
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Bay is short for eBay without the “E”
NYT Connections: Full answers for April 4:
WHAT’S LEFTOVER
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Balance, Difference, Remainder, Rest
CAR TRIP
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Cruise, Drive, Ride, Spin
BASEBALL VENUES
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Diamond, Field, Park, Stadium
COMPANIES WITH “E” REMOVED
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Bay (eBay), Harmony (eHarmony), Ink (LinkedIn), Trade (E*Trade)