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**Connections** has swiftly emerged as one of the favorite word games from the New York Times, standing alongside viral sensations like *Wordle*. The premise is straightforward yet intriguing: uncover the shared link among groups of words. Every day at midnight, a fresh puzzle is released—and they tend to become more complex as time progresses. If you’re feeling lost, fret not—we have hints, tips, and today’s complete solution right below.
For those who wish to tackle it independently, continue reading for some useful clues. But if you prefer to jump straight to today’s answers, go ahead and skip down!
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### What is *Connections*?
*Connections* is the New York Times’ newest daily word game, and it’s capturing the attention of social media users. Developed with the assistance of associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu, the game invites players to categorize 16 words into four groups of four, based on a common theme.
You can enjoy *Connections* on your web browser or mobile device. What’s the aim? To determine the accurate groupings—whether they’re linked by book titles, software names, countries, or completely different topics. Beware: while multiple words may appear connected, there’s only one correct way to group them.
Each correct collection you discover vanishes from the board. However, if you make too many errors—specifically four—the game concludes. To assist, you can shuffle the board to reveal new combinations. Furthermore, each group is color-coded according to difficulty: yellow (easiest), green, blue, and purple (hardest). Similar to *Wordle*, you can also share your results with friends online.
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### Need a Hint for Today’s *Connections*?
If you’re looking for a little encouragement without giving everything away, here are some hints for today’s categories:
– **Yellow:** Found in math class
– **Green:** A bundle of strands
– **Blue:** Items you snack on
– **Purple:** They have a shared first word
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### Today’s *Connections* Categories
Still scratching your head? Here’s a bit more assistance. Today’s groups belong to these categories:
– **Yellow:** Calculator keys
– **Green:** Amounts of hair
– **Blue:** Units of salty snacks
– **Purple:** Swedish ___
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### Today’s *Connections* Answers
Ready for the reveal? Here’s the solution to today’s *Connections* puzzle (#685):
– **Calculator keys:** EQUALS, MINUS, PERCENT, TIMES
– **Amounts of hair:** LOCK, SHOCK, THATCH, TUFT
– **Units of salty snacks:** COMBO, GOLDFISH, RUFFLE, TAKI
– **Swedish ___:** CHEF, FISH, MASSAGE, MEATBALL
If today didn’t go your way, don’t be discouraged—tomorrow’s puzzle awaits! And we’ll be right here to provide more hints and solutions to assist you.
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Looking for additional games? Explore Mashable’s Games Hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crosswords, and more!
Are you enjoying NYT’s *Strands*? We also have hints and answers for today’s *Strands* puzzle.
Missed yesterday’s *Connections*? You can find the solution for April 26 here.
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