**Connections: The NYT Word Game Taking the Internet by Storm**
*Connections* is a top-tier word game offered by the *New York Times*, engaging players with its distinctive challenge of discovering “common threads between words.” Much like *Wordle*, *Connections* resets daily at midnight, with each successive puzzle presenting an increasing level of difficulty. If you’re having trouble, we provide hints and strategies to assist you—or you can jump directly to the end for today’s answer.
—
### What is Connections?
The *New York Times*’ newest word game has taken social media by storm. Developed with the assistance of associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu, *Connections* has become a regular feature in the *Times*’ Games section. Accessible via web browsers and mobile devices, the game asks players to categorize four words that share a common theme.
Each puzzle features 16 words, split into four categories. These categories can include anything from book titles to software names, nations, and beyond. Although certain words may appear to belong to multiple categories, there is only one valid solution. Successfully identifying a group will eliminate those words from play, whereas incorrect guesses count as errors—players are allowed up to four mistakes before the game concludes.
To simplify the process, players have the option to shuffle the board and rearrange the words. Each group is marked with a color code, starting with yellow as the easiest, then green, blue, and purple. Similar to *Wordle*, players can share their scores on social media for comparison with friends.
—
### Hints for Today’s Connections Categories
Need a little guidance? Here are some hints for today’s categories:
– **Yellow:** A kind of grilled meat
– **Green:** Forceful or light blow
– **Blue:** Utilized for internet navigation
– **Purple:** Words that include a beer brand
—
### Today’s Connections Categories
Still unsure? Here are the categories for today’s puzzle:
– **Yellow:** Frankfurter
– **Green:** Strike
– **Blue:** Web Browsers
– **Purple:** Ending with Beer Brands
—
### Today’s Connections Solution
Ready for the answers? Here’s the solution to today’s *Connections* #586:
– **Frankfurter:** BANGER, BRAT, LINK, SAUSAGE
– **Strike:** BOP, HIT, KNOCK, TAP
– **Web Browsers:** CHROME, EDGE, OPERA, SAFARI
– **Ending with Beer Brands:** AUTOHARP, CONTRABASS, PEPPERONI, ROSEBUD
Don’t fret if you didn’t solve it this time—there’s always a new puzzle arriving tomorrow. We’ll return with additional hints and answers to support you.
—
### Looking for More Puzzles?
If you enjoy word games, visit Mashable’s [games hub](https://games.mashable.com/) for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crosswords, and much more. And if you’re also tackling *NYT Strands*, we have hints and solutions for today’s puzzle [here](https://mashable.com/article/strands-nyt-hint-january-16-2025).
Missed yesterday’s *Connections*? [Discover the solution here](https://mashable.com/article/nyt-connections-sports-edition-hint-answer-today-january-17).
Happy puzzling!