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Connections Word Puzzle
Sixteen words, four hidden groups. Pick four words that share a connection and submit them, but you can only make four mistakes. A new puzzle arrives every day, and every past puzzle is waiting in the archive.
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Puzzle
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How to use the Connections Word Puzzle
- Look at all 16 words and look for four that share something: a category, a missing word, a hidden word or a sound.
- Select four tiles by clicking them, then press Submit. Click a tile again to deselect it.
- Solve a group and it locks in as a colored bar showing its category. Yellow is usually the easiest group and purple the trickiest.
- Watch your mistakes. Each wrong guess costs one of four dots. "One away" means three of your four words belong together.
- Share and keep going. Copy your result grid, then open the Archive or press Play random for more puzzles.
The four kinds of groups
| Color | Difficulty | What to look for | Example group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Easiest | Everyday categories you'd name instantly | Farm animals: COW, GOAT, PIG, SHEEP |
| Green | Easy | Narrower sets, synonyms and things found in one place | Synonyms for fast: BRISK, QUICK, RAPID, SWIFT |
| Blue | Harder | General knowledge: science, geography, music, myths | Noble gases: ARGON, NEON, RADON, XENON |
| Purple | Trickiest | Wordplay: fill-in-the-blank, hidden words, sounds, spelling | ___BALL: BASKET, FOOT, MEAT, SNOW |
Strategies that work
- Find the red herrings first. If you spot five or six words that seem to fit one category, at least one of them belongs somewhere else. Work out which before you submit.
- Solve the purple group in your head. When a word fits nowhere, test it with common patterns: add a word before or after it (FIRE___, ___BOARD), look for a hidden smaller word, or say it out loud.
- Start with the group you're surest of. Each solved group removes four tiles, which makes the remaining connections easier to see.
- Shuffle when you're stuck. Words that sit next to each other suggest links that aren't there. A new layout breaks that bias.
- Use "One away" carefully. Swap only the word you're least sure about, and avoid spending your last mistake on a guess you haven't checked against the other groups.
Common wordplay patterns
| Pattern | How it works | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Compound words | Each word forms a new word with the same word before or after it | SUN___: FLOWER, GLASSES, RISE, SHINE |
| Hidden words | A smaller word is hiding inside each one | Hidden animals: BEARD, CATALOG, DOGMA, PIGMENT |
| Sounds | Words that sound like letters or other words | Sound like letters: BEE, JAY, QUEUE, SEA |
| Things with… | Different objects that share a feature | Things with teeth: COMB, GEAR, SAW, ZIPPER |
| Spelling | Palindromes, silent letters and similar quirks | Palindromes: CIVIC, KAYAK, LEVEL, RADAR |
Frequently asked questions
How do you play the Connections word puzzle?
The board shows 16 words that belong to exactly four groups of four. Select four words you think share a connection and press Submit. If they form a group, it is revealed with its category name; if not, you lose one of your four mistakes. Find all four groups before the fourth mistake to win.
What do the colors mean?
Each group has a difficulty color: yellow for the most straightforward category, green and blue for harder ones, and purple for the trickiest, which is usually wordplay such as words that come before "BALL", hidden numbers or palindromes. Colors also make up the shareable result grid.
What does "One away" mean?
It means three of the four words you submitted belong to the same group and one doesn't. It still counts as a mistake, so think about which word might fit a different group before trying again.
When does a new puzzle come out?
A new puzzle starts at midnight in your own time zone. Puzzle #1 was January 1, 2026, and the puzzle number counts up one per day. Everyone gets the same puzzle on the same date, so you can compare results with friends.
Can I play old puzzles?
Yes. Open the Archive to see the last 30 puzzles with your results, or pick any date since January 1, 2026 in the date box. The arrows next to the puzzle number step one day back or forward. Progress on each puzzle is saved, so you can return to an unfinished one.
How do I share my result without spoilers?
After a puzzle ends, press Copy result. It copies the puzzle number and one row of colored squares per guess, showing how you got there without revealing any words, ready to paste into a message or post.
Is this the New York Times Connections game?
No. This is an independent, free word-grouping puzzle with its own word lists and daily puzzles. It runs entirely in your browser, needs no account, and stores your stats only on your device.
Are all the tools on FreeToolCabin tested for quality and accuracy?
Yes! Every tool on our site undergoes automated Q/A testing in real browser environments to ensure high precision, correct output, and zero errors. If you happen to spot a bug or have a suggestion, please contact us at [email protected] and our team will review it right away.
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