Connections Rules
A daily grouping puzzle where sixteen words must be sorted into four hidden categories of four words each.
Quick answer
Connections asks you to choose four words that share a category. Correct groups disappear from the board, while wrong submissions count against your four allowed mistakes.
Puzzle facts
| format | Daily category puzzle |
|---|---|
| players | Solo |
| time | 5-12 minutes |
| difficulty | Medium |
What you need
- A Connections puzzle grid.
- Scratch paper if you like sorting candidate groups.
Setup
- Scan all sixteen words before selecting anything.
- Look for obvious categories, then check whether any word could fit more than one group.
- Submit exactly four words at a time.
Objective
Find all four hidden groups before making four mistakes.
Rules
- The board starts with sixteen words.
- Select four words you believe belong together.
- A correct group is removed and labeled with its category.
- An incorrect group costs one mistake.
- The puzzle ends when all groups are solved or the mistake limit is reached.
Scoring and results
- There is no score total.
- Your result depends on whether you solved all groups and how many mistakes you used.
- Groups are commonly presented in increasing difficulty colors.
Examples
Category trap
Four words may all be animals, but one might also be a sports team name. Check for the tighter category.
Save uncertain sets
If five words seem connected, postpone that group until another category removes one of them.
Strategy tips
- Name the category before submitting.
- Watch for homophones, prefixes, suffixes, brand names, and fill-in-the-blank clues.
- Use shuffle to break visual habits.
- Solve the most certain group first, not the flashiest one.
Common mistakes
- Submitting four loosely related words without a category name.
- Ignoring that one word can be a decoy for several possible groups.
- Burning guesses to test hunches too early.
Variations
- Fan-made grouping puzzles use the same four-by-four structure.
- Some classroom variants allow teams to explain categories verbally.
Visual guide
Use this example to see how the puzzle works before you try the steps yourself.
FAQ
How many mistakes do you get in Connections?
The standard daily puzzle allows four mistakes.
How many words are in each Connections group?
Each solved group contains exactly four words.
Where to play Connections
App and web picksSources
Rule references and official game pages where available. App recommendations are separate from sources.
- Connections, The New York Times
Official daily puzzle page.