Connections
Group 16 words into 4 secret categories
What Is the Connections Word Game?
Connections is a category-grouping word puzzle where you are shown 16 words and must sort them into exactly 4 groups of 4, each sharing a hidden common theme. Popularised by The New York Times, Connections has become one of the fastest-growing daily word games in the world, attracting tens of millions of players who enjoy the "aha!" moment of spotting a tricky link.
Each puzzle has four difficulty tiers. Yellow categories are straightforward — think "Types of Cheese" or "Planets." Green is getting tricky. Blue requires lateral thinking. Purpleis fiendish — categories often rely on wordplay, hidden phrases, or double meanings that make even experienced solvers groan in delighted surprise.
How to Play Connections
Step-by-Step Guide
- You see a 4×4 grid of 16 words.
- Tap or click words to select up to 4 at a time.
- When you have 4 selected, press Submit.
- A correct group is revealed and locked in with its colour.
- A wrong guess costs one life — you have 4 in total.
- Solve all 4 groups to win!
Colour Difficulty Key
🟨 Yellow — Straightforward. Usually a familiar everyday category.
🟩 Green — Getting tricky. May need a second look.
🟦 Blue — Challenging. Watch for red herrings.
🟪 Purple — Fiendish. Wordplay, hidden phrases, or sneaky double meanings.
Winning Strategies for Connections
- Start with yellow. Lock in the easiest category first to shrink the grid and remove obvious words that might otherwise mislead you on harder groups.
- Watch out for red herrings. Puzzle designers deliberately include words that seem to fit one group but actually belong to another. If you spot three clear matches, pause — the fourth might not be what you think.
- Think about word forms. Purple categories often use words that can follow or precede a common word. For example, BOARD, CAST, HAUL, COAT might all follow "OVER" — a link that's invisible until you test it.
- Use the "one away" hint. If you get the "😬 One away…" message, only one of your four words is wrong. Mentally swap each word out one at a time to find the culprit.
- Don't rush. Use the Shuffle button to see the words in a fresh arrangement — spatial rearrangement often reveals hidden groupings your brain missed in the original layout.
Why Connections Is So Addictive
The game's brilliance lies in its deceptive simplicity. At first glance, 16 random words. Seconds later, you see a loose pattern. Then another. Then the rug-pull moment when a word you were certain belonged to one group turns out to be the anchor of a completely different category. That cycle of confidence, doubt, and revelation is precisely what keeps players coming back every day.
Connections also rewards broad general knowledge — science, music, sport, literature, food, geography, and pop culture all appear — making it a genuinely educational experience dressed up as entertainment.
Frequently Asked Questions
❓ Can a word appear in more than one possible category?
Each word belongs to exactly one correct category, but puzzle designers deliberately choose words that seem to fit multiple groups. That ambiguity is the puzzle — part of the challenge is figuring out which group each word truly belongs to.
❓ What happens when I run out of lives?
All four categories are revealed so you can see the answers. You can then start a new puzzle immediately — no need to wait until tomorrow!
❓ How many puzzles are available?
WordZingo Connections features 10 hand-crafted puzzles covering a wide range of topics. New puzzles are added regularly. Use the "Next Puzzle" button to cycle through them all.
❓ What does "One away…" mean?
It means exactly 3 of your 4 selected words belong to the same correct group. One word in your selection is the intruder — swap it out with a word you haven't tried yet.