**All You Should Understand About the NYT’s Newest Word Challenge, *Connections***
*Connections* is the latest word challenge from *The New York Times* that has swiftly become a favorite among puzzle lovers. Comparable to *Wordle*, this game encourages participants to pinpoint “shared links among words.” Each day, a fresh puzzle is launched at midnight, with increasing difficulty as the week goes on. If you find yourself in a jam, we’ve compiled hints and tactics to assist you—and if you’re here solely for today’s answer, just scroll to the bottom of this article.
### What Is *Connections*?
The *New York Times* has introduced another success to its Games section with *Connections*, a daily word game developed in collaboration with associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu. Accessible on both web and mobile platforms, the game challenges players to categorize four words that have a shared theme.
Each puzzle is made up of 16 words that must be arranged into four unique categories. These categories can include anything from book titles to names of software, countries, and beyond. Though some words may appear to fit several categories, only one accurate answer exists.
When a player successfully groups four words together, those words are eliminated from the board. Nonetheless, wrong guesses are counted as errors, and players can make up to four mistakes before the game is over. To ease the process, participants can shuffle the board to rearrange the words.
Additionally, the game incorporates a color-coded difficulty scale: yellow signifies the easiest level, followed by green, blue, and purple. Similar to *Wordle*, players can broadcast their scores on social media to compete with their friends.
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### Hints for Today’s *Connections* Puzzle
Need a little push in the right direction? Here are some clues for today’s categories:
– **Yellow:** Casual terms for a person’s head
– **Green:** Words that read the same forwards and backward
– **Blue:** TV series focused on crime-solving
– **Purple:** Comedians usually performing in pairs
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### Today’s *Connections* Categories
Still feeling stuck? Here are the specific categories for today’s puzzle:
– **Yellow:** Slang for Head
– **Green:** Palindromes
– **Blue:** Police Procedurals
– **Purple:** First in a Comedy Duo
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### Today’s *Connections* Solution
If you’re eager for the answers, here’s the solution to today’s *Connections* puzzle (#560):
– **Slang for Head:** COCONUT, CROWN, DOME, SKULL
– **Palindromes:** ABBA, KAYAK, NUN, STATS
– **Police Procedurals:** BONES, ELEMENTARY, KOJAK, MONK
– **First in a Comedy Duo:** ABBOTT, FRY, KEY, LAUREL
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### Don’t Sweat If You Didn’t Figure It Out
If today’s puzzle left you puzzled, don’t fret—there’s always tomorrow! A brand-new *Connections* puzzle will be ready for you to take on, and we’ll provide more hints and answers to assist you.
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### Interested in More Games?
For those who enjoy puzzles, visit Mashable’s [games hub](https://games.mashable.com/) for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crosswords, and more. Plus, if you’re also engaging in *Wordle* or *Strands*, we’ve got hints and solutions for those games too.
Missed out on yesterday’s *Connections*? [Here’s the solution to puzzle #559.](https://mashable.com/article/nyt-connections-sports-edition-hint-answer-today-december-21)
Enjoy puzzling!