Connections, one of the numerous games offered by The New York Times, will have you equally completely confused but also feel like a genius when you solve it.
You’re presented with 16 words: you just need to group them into four groups of four, but one by one. You can only select four words, then submit. If it’s a group, they’ll be removed and have it explained why they belong together. You have tries where you can get it wrong, but after that, you fail. You do have the groups explained to you even if you fail, which can show how versatile you need to be with them.
I can’t say I’ve ever had to say to an editor: “I’ve got this idea, but give me time, I need to get good.” Safe to say it’s been a while, so I’m not sure if the editor of Power Up Gaming is even still alive and well (Editor’s note: I’ll never die!) So this game isn’t the easiest.
Yes, Connections NYT can be complicated, so let’s dive into exactly why and how you can get good.
Don’t be a dinosaur, be a Thesaurus-Ex…pert
You will need to know exactly what a lot of words mean, as it often does use some niche examples to throw you off. Also, language isn’t something that stays still. “Straight” has a lot of uses, but I feel like it has come away from the meaning of traditional, which is what the puzzle on May 19 wanted to guess it as.
Also, some rely on the sounds of words. Take this group from the same day as above: “FRUIT HOMOPHONES: BURY, CURRENT, LEACHY, PAIR”; this relies on knowing that it is generally pronounced “beh-ree” as opposed to “buh-ree”.
Think Laterally! Open Your Mind!
A great example of this would be the one on May 17, whereby the puzzle was as shown below:
So one group is: Can, Garden, Batter, Pong. The words themselves don’t have any connection, but the grouping is about the word that often comes before them: Beer.
So not only should you be mindful of the meaning of the words, but you also have to be well aware of the context in which they are commonly used. Yes, this game will make your brain hurt a bit. At the risk of sounding like a GCSE English teacher, context is important. This game robs you of that context and then relies upon you to figure out the potential context.
Erm, have a well-rounded knowledge, I guess?
Take the previous example again, because there happens to be an even more frustrating answer there. Whoever designed the puzzle that day, I’m here for you.
It’s rather subtle to realise exactly why the following are grouped: Fruit, Pitcher, Skull, Tablecloth. Unless you have a seriously questionable design ethos when it comes to house decorations, then chances are you wouldn’t think to add Skull. Yet you either get all four, or you get nothing. You will not get any hints or near-misses. You’ll just miss the target. Yet they do group together, as a result of them being examples of Still Life, a genre of Western art.
… Me neither. This game will require some pretty subtle knowledge sometimes.
Be Tactical to Counteract Your Lack of Intellect!
So if two words seem very strongly connected, they probably are not part of the same group. Examples would be, like in the above, Ping and Pong, while I’ve seen the words Secure and Security used, whereby neither would be part of the same group.
Another strategy would simply be to relax. The answer may well come to you. It can easily get to the point where you’ve got two groups, but then you’re worrying about getting it done. Your brain goes into overdrive and you start to lose the clarity that is needed to consider absolutely everything and instead, you will obsess over the first idea you have.
But these aren’t the only strategies…
Fail, Fail and Fail Again!
This is probably the easiest way to do it. Just try it, aim to get one group then have a half-hearted attempt at the others. After that, you can study exactly what the groups were which will help gradually get your brain into gear as to how the game works. The first victory is satisfying and will be worth the struggle. Trust me, I’ve done an entire article off the back of the joy.
Struggling with the Wordle answer for the day or simply don’t want to do it? Go on, admit defeat over here.
