No one wants their Sunday ruined by a game of Connections that they can’t crack, so Newsweek has your back with hints and tips to make sure that doesn’t happen.
The New York Times word puzzle, launched last summer, has become one of the paper’s most popular games—just behind Wordle, another hit word game.
The June 30 Connections game, #385, has a difficulty rating of 3.7 out of five. The rating is determined by “averaging the ratings provided by a panel of testers who are paid to solve each puzzle in advance,” the Times says.
Newsweek will breakdown some helpful hints and reveal the answers, so be careful how far you scroll if you want to solve the puzzle on your own.
Before we get into today’s game, let’s recap how to play.
How to Play Connections
Players need to group 16 words into four categories that are linked by some kind of association. For example, Friday’s game linked the words “clutch,” “messenger,” “satchel” and “tote” under the category “types of bags.”
Each of the four categories has a difficulty level, with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue and finally purple, the most difficult.
It is important to keep in mind that while the concept is simple, the puzzles often use homophones and wordplay—so you have to think outside the box.
For example, in Saturday’s game, the category was “flower,” and the words were “may,” “sun,” “wall” and “wild,”—as in “mayflower,” “sunflower,” “wallflower” and “wildflower.”
The game is released at midnight in your time zone, so you can get your brain stimulated as soon as you wake up.
AP
‘Connections’ #385 Words for Sunday, June 30
The 16 words you’re working with today are these: ash, electric, saw, jet, gas, chestnut, filter, gum, ebony, maxim, wood, heater, pump, cherry, charcoal and adage.
‘Connections’ #385 Clues for Sunday, June 30
Yellow: A phrase you have heard multiple times, probably from the older people in your life.
Green: What you would need to start a fire for a BBQ.
Blue: Things that give us oxygen.
Purple: A group of parts that, together, make up a warm, bubbling body of water.
‘Connections’ #385 Categories for Sunday, June 30
Yellow: Old saying
Green: Grill fuel sources
Blue: Trees
Purple: Hot tub parts
‘Connections’ #385 Answers for Sunday, June 30
Yellow: Adage, chestnut, maxim, saw
Green: Charcoal, electric, gas, wood
Blue: Ash, cherry, ebony, gum
Purple: Filter, heater, jet, pump
For each new game of Connections, Newsweek will be there with you, offering hints and tips.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.