NYT 'Connections' September 12: Answers, Clues for Game #459

A new day means a new Connections puzzle, but if you’re struggling to come up with the answers, Newsweek is here to help.

Connections is a word-based game that quickly gained worldwide popularity after it was launched by The New York Times in 2023. The puzzle was built off the success of Wordle, which the newspaper acquired in January 2022.

The answers for Thursday’s Connections game will be revealed at the bottom of the page, so be sure to scroll with caution if you want to work them out yourself.

How to Play Connections

The rules of the game are straightforward—players are given a set of 16 words, and these words must be broken into four groups of four and put into categories based on common characteristics.

For example, in Wednesday’s puzzle, one of the categories was, “Large amount of money,” and the words associated with that category were “bundle,” “fortune,” “mint” and “pile.”

In the past, categories have ranged from Units of Length to Joaquin Phoenix Movies and more.

Each category is linked to a color—yellow is considered to be the easiest, followed by green, then blue, then purple.

To start, players must select four words they think are associated with one another and click “Submit.” If the selections are correct, they’ll light up in the difficulty color and be removed from the board. If they are incorrect, they will be gray in color and remain on the board. Players get four guesses before the answers will be revealed, however, there is no time limit to solve the puzzle.

If you’re feeling particularly stuck, you can always click on the “Shuffle” button, which will give you a fresh perspective.

Wyna Liu, Connections developer and crossword editor at The New York Times, recently spilled puzzle hints with Newsweek.

“My best piece advice is to wait as long as you can before guessing,” she said. “Don’t do what I do which is ‘rage solve.'”

A woman smiles while looking at her cellphone. Newsweek has helpful hints and tips for you to solve Thursday’s “Connections” puzzle.

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