Connections was launched by The New York Times in 2023 following the astonishing success the newspaper had with Wordle, a word-based game it purchased from New York-based software developer Josh Wardle in January 2022.
After being released, Connections quickly grew a dedicated following across the English-speaking world, including some players who take to social media each day to share their results and advice.
How to Play ‘Connections’
Each day, Connections players are presented with 16 words, which they are tasked with dividing into four categories based around common characteristics.
The four categories are all color-coded to show their difficulty, with yellow being the easiest then green, blue and purple. Players choose four words at a time, and if they are connected, constituting one of the four categories, they light up and are removed from the board. At this point, their color is also revealed, showing how difficult the quiz setters expected that set of connections to be.
If a player guesses incorrect groups of words four times, the game ends, and they are defeated. There is no time limit for the puzzle.
At any point, the player can shuffle the board resulting in the 16 words being randomly repositioned.
According to Connections editor Wyna Liu, if you have five cards that all seem to belong in the same category, your best move may well be to try to figure out a different category, then come back to the original one once some of the words are eliminated.
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Liu said: “Doing so might take one of those extra cards out of contention, or at least remove a few cards from the board, making other categories easier to see.”
The answers for Sunday’s Connections puzzle will be revealed at the end of this article, so please scroll down with caution if you want to work them out yourself.
‘Connections’ #427 Clues for Sunday, August 11
Newsweek has some hints to help you figure out today’s Connections categories.
Yellow: Used on water.
Green: Something you might aspire to be.
Blue: With reference to someone or something else.
Purple: Sounds similar to something else.
‘Connections’ #427 Answers for Sunday, August 11
Yellow Category: LARGE BOAT
Yellow Words: BARGE, CRAFT, SHIP, VESSEL
Green Category: ALL-TIME GREAT
Green Words: BEST, CHAMP, GOAT, LEGEND
Blue Category: REGARDING
Blue Words: ABOUT, CONCERNING, ON, TOWARD
Purple Category: HOMOPHONES OF BODY FEATURES
Purple Words: HARE, I, MUSSEL, NAVAL
Well, that was good fun! Did you work out the answer? If so, congratulations, but please don’t be put off playing if not. Practice makes perfect, and the next Connections puzzle will be published by The New York Times on Monday. Newsweek will of course be back once again with another round of hints and tips.