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The Connections word game challenges you to put 16 words into 4 categories of 4 related words each. It takes the game to the color-coded level, where it is supposed to be blue for the most difficult, purple for hard, and yellow for easy so that every player can be tested to find connections with the most disparate of words.
Puzzle designer Wyna Liu developed Connections for the NY Times, part of the NYT Games family, in 2023. It was an instant sensation with its unconventional take on word association that required lateral thinking instead of straight vocabulary skills. The game has millions of fans around the world observing the daily ritual.
Let’s understand the hints to solve the equation today.
Today’s Theme is “PRINTED NOTIFICATION”
Look for words related to public announcements or written communications
These words all describe physical items used to share information
Think about what you might see posted on a bulletin board
Hint: These items typically contain text meant to inform people
Today’s Theme is “SEEN AT A GROCERY CHECKOUT COUNTER”
Focus on items or objects you encounter at the end of your shopping trip
Think about the physical components of the checkout area
Consider both the equipment and the features used in processing your purchase
Hint: These are all physical objects, not actions or people
Today’s Theme is “THINGS WITH TABS”
Look for items that have a tab feature or component
Consider both digital and physical objects
Think about tabs as organizational features or physical parts
Hint: The items serve different purposes but share this common feature
Today’s theme is “PALM ___”
These words can all follow "PALM" to form common phrases
Consider different contexts: nature, technology, locations, time
Look for words that might connect to hands, trees, or places
Hint: One refers to a day of the week, another to a physical location
Use the "blanks-completion" technique for the Purple category. When you see "PALM ___," try completing it with all those 16 words after "PALM" and look for the common phrases or compound word combinations you can form with them.
Blue groups often have categories involving people in a group by surname, profession, or fictional universe often yield results. This builds on strategies from the 31 March 2025 puzzle, for example, "THINGS WITH TABS" presupposes that between those objects there is a common element, either physical or electronic, concerning the tab for or form of incorporation of the tab its interface uses.
Yellow categories normally contain words that say almost the same thing. Think: ANNOUNCEMENT, BULLETIN, NOTICE, and POSTER - all serve to publicize information. This technique proved effective in the 1 April 2025 puzzle featuring actions related to eating or intake.
For the Green category, associate grocery checkout objects with the real things you usually encounter. Today’s category echoes the 2 April 2025 ways to combine such things that are really there in this visualization should somehow evoke the association of what seem to be unrelated words with each other at least in a shared environment.
For those who want the complete solutions to today's puzzle:
Yellow (Easiest): ANNOUNCEMENT, BULLETIN, NOTICE, POSTER
Green (Medium): CONVEYOR BELT, REGISTER, SCALE, SCANNER
Blue (Challenging): BROWSER, FOLDER, KEYBOARD, SODA CAN
Purple (Hardest): BEACH, READER, SUNDAY, TREE
Today's Connections require identification of both functional relations and associations between words. The progress in difficulty goes from things (yellow) to patterns of completion of words (purple), showing how varied the requirements are for thinking in order to master this game. Let these clues guide you along the way but do not let them ruin your fun of trying to solve the puzzle.
