Connections: Everything You Should Know About the NYT’s Popular Word Game

Connections has swiftly emerged as one of the most favored word games from The New York Times, enthralling players with its witty puzzles and everyday challenges. Similar to Wordle, Connections resets every day at midnight, presenting a new array of words that typically become more challenging throughout the week. If you find yourself in a bind, don’t fret—we have hints, tips, and today’s answer to assist you.

Want to jump straight to the solution? Scroll down to the bottom for today’s Connections answer. Prefer to tackle it on your own? Continue reading for useful clues and strategies.

What Is Connections?

Connections is the newest daily word game from The New York Times that has taken social media by a storm. Developed with the assistance of associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu, the game invites players to uncover common links among clusters of four words.

Accessible on both desktop and mobile browsers, Connections features a 4×4 grid of 16 words. The objective is to categorize the words into four sets of four, with every set sharing a common theme—such as film titles, varieties of fruit, or coding languages. While several words may appear to be connected, there is only one correct way to group them.

When you successfully pinpoint a group, those words vanish from the grid. However, be cautious—each wrong guess is counted as a mistake, and you can only make four before the game concludes.

To assist you in recognizing patterns, you can shuffle the board. Each group is also color-coded by difficulty: yellow is the simplest, followed by green, blue, and lastly purple, which is the most challenging. Similar to Wordle, you can share your results with friends on social media.

Taking a break from Connections? Explore Mashable’s game hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, crosswords, and more.

Hints for Today’s Connections Categories

If you need a little guidance in the right direction without revealing the answers, here are some subtle hints for today’s categories:

– Yellow: Natural classifications
– Green: Measuring tools
– Blue: Black and white birds
– Purple: Electronic

Still in a jam? Keep scrolling for the actual category names and today’s complete solution.

Today’s Connections Categories

Here are the official categories for today’s challenge:

– Yellow: Member of a kingdom in taxonomy
– Green: Graduated instruments
– Blue: Kinds of penguins
– Purple: “E” Things

Ready for the reveal? Here’s your final warning to turn back if you wish to solve it on your own.

Today’s Connections #706 Solution

– Member of a kingdom in taxonomy: ANIMAL, BACTERIA, FUNGUS, PLANT
– Graduated instruments: BEAKER, PROTRACTOR, RULER, SYRINGE
– Kinds of penguins: CHINSTRAP, EMPEROR, KING, MACARONI
– “E” Things: COMMERCE, MAIL, SCOOTER, SIGNATURE

Didn’t solve it today? No worries—there’s a new puzzle awaiting you tomorrow, and we’ll return with more hints and solutions to assist you.

Looking for additional puzzles? Try today’s Wordle or browse the latest NYT Strands. You can also dive into Mashable’s complete assortment of games, including Mahjong, Sudoku, and crosswords.

Missed yesterday’s puzzle? Catch up with the May 16 Connections solution here.