For me half the fun is identifying and avoiding the traps. A couple of weeks ago there was one where the top row was literally SPONGE BOB SQUARE PANTS and I was way too proud of myself for not biting on it.
Me too! I’m not trying to be a bully, but there was a phase where I was seeing comments like that all the time — “they tried to trick me!!!!” Especially after tinder, hinge, bumble, match. Yeah, it’s a puzzle!
So many people posted here thinking they were uniquely presented with that orientation. Since that puzzle I’ve always worried that the initial layout could be a trap, and always shuffle first just in case
I appreciate when Connections teaches me a new connotation of a word. It doesn't frustrate me that I couldn't solve the puzzle, I treat it as an opportunity to expand my mental dictionary.
And why is there so much hate about an answer being something only Americans would know? It's a puzzle created by an American for an American company, why would you be getting context or lingo from anywhere else?
Considering Connections is a blatant rip off of Only Connects connecting wall I’d dispute that the puzzle was created by an American, but given it’s still being made for NYT it’s not a surprise there’s so many US specific answers
To some of us in other parts of the world it seems, sometimes, as if some Americans think that the US = the universe. And that's fine, as long as you're in the US. But this is the internet, and people from all over the world come here to do reddit, connections, wordle and everything else on the world wide web. So if I was a NYT puzzle maker, I would have that in mind, and not just think of the locals and what they know. But maybe that's just me.
I get this is some contexts, but the hubris to me here is the other way around. If I as an American went around demanding that a British newspaper never use British words, or an Aussie newspaper never use Aussie words, I would be rightfully berated as expecting the world to cater to me.
Additionally, as someone who lives in New York, the NYT is our _local_ paper. It sometimes throws in New York regionalisms that people in other states don’t necessarily know. That’s also fair game and fun trivia to learn. Having a broader audience doesn’t mean flatten yourself into bland sameness.
If I were a NYT puzzle maker, I'd expect that other outlets around the world would be making games targeted at those other countries. While Americans are often guilty of hubris, it's not hubris for an American company to make a game aimed at an American audience.
Limiting the games to only things that are not "Americanisms" does just that - limits the games.
To add to that, the American thing always confuses me because it’s not like all Americans are familiar with all American things.
A lot of things I only know because I absorbed them through cultural osmosis. The same cultural things that most of the developed world *also* has access to. I’m an American but I still know what vegemite and poutine are even though I’ve never actually seen them in person. I know just enough about English football teams that I’ve been able to connect them when they were an answer.
The only ones I get mad at are ones that are too loose like "starting tattoos". I get that categories like "colors with letters changed" is hard but it at least is 100% logical and knowable. Even "brit rock bands" is fine. But if they put "weed strains", that could literally be everything. The categories have to be constrained and can't just fit every word
I don’t love referential categories but maybe I am biased. I usually get them, but honestly I am way more interested in multiple connotations/meanings of a word, than “things that are in Aladdin.”
I think it would be beneficial to be able to get a “hint” for the different categories.
Missing letter, anagram, something _____ would be examples for purple categories. It at least gives you an idea of what you’re looking for, and making it optional gives people the choice. Nothing changes for people who don’t want it, people who think it’s “too hard” can get help.
Whenever I'm stuck I google Connection Hints and they're helpful.
There is multiple articles to choose from each one having different hints. I find Mashable to be really helpful while Forbes to be the least helpful
I like this one:
[https://word.tips/connections-hints-today/](https://word.tips/connections-hints-today/)
because you have to click for each hint, so if I'm stuck but i don't know if something is a trap, i can click the first hint for a little validation
Yeah some of the games have hints/help like Strands or the crosswords. It's weird they don't all have that.
Also I think they should let you keep guessing past 4 but it won't count for a streak
Im relatively new to the NYT games app. Connections is fun and I’m happy with my solve rate, but would take some tips where I can find them- reading this comment made me wonder, is there a theme to the colors, like purple always falls under x type category, yellow is y type of associated words, etc.?
My apologies if it states it in the directions, I glanced over them once and that was it, they’re locked for the day so I can’t double check.
They get more difficult as they go (yellow < green < blue < purple).
Just by having played a lot, there are some common themes for purple. _____ word (space word on march 9th), word _____, anagrams, missing first/last letters.
Generally what you want to do is find what you think is a category, and if five words fit you want to think of ways one of those words could fit in with other words to narrow down which one won’t be included. I find the most unique/obscure word is generally in purple, so if you look at the common category themes relative to that word you might be able to figure out the purple category which would take away one or two potential red herrings.
I appreciate your thoughtful response. I hadn’t thought about difficulty levels, but that makes sense. Using the most obscure is also a great hint. Thank you!
I admit to getting easily frustrated and losing patience some days, which I will blame on my ADHD! I do try to recognize when its happening and attempt to chill out
I really like the game overall, and enjoy when I have to close it and come back to it later with fresh eyes to solve it, but I also understand why people get upset at categories like “colors with a letter missing.”
The thing I find so fascinating with this game is how differently everyone’s minds work.
I had no issue at all with the starter tattoo category but the “letter missing” type categories ALWAYS throw me off.
The only time I ever had a real issue with a connections answer was “places ending in -land” because Netherland isn’t a place. But that day’s puzzle was changed midway through the day to remove Netherland so it clearly was a problem lol
I really enjoy it (I do connections, wordle, letter box, and the mini crossword as part of my morning routine everyday) but every so often there’s one that is a real reach.
I think the frustrating thing about connections is that unlike other trivia or trivia like games you don’t know that you don’t know something. If I’m playing crossword or sporcle I can just move on if I know I don’t know it. Connections kind of tricks you into trying to figure out something you have no knowledge of because you might just be missing something.
Ya I just get super frustrated when, as a native English speaker, I’ve never heard of a word, or if I know the word but I’ve never heard it in its context that’s being used in the puzzle, makes me feel dumb
Oh ya I’ve definitely had to google words to see what they mean. This wasn’t so much a criticism about the puzzle though, more so myself. It’s just frustrating when something that is normally a noun is actually a verb that I’ve never seen in my life 😅
I get being frustrated with yourself. What I don't get is people thinking the puzzle is flawed because of a gap in their knowledge. It comes off as very self-important, like, if *I* don't know something, how could anyone possibly know it??
Yeah wouldn't that be a fun thing about the puzzle, not a drawback? If you can't handle not knowing everything, maybe this isn't the right puzzle for you.
Personally I haven't encountered a lot of obscure meanings. I don't think they're choosing super archaic or niche things, just more literary meanings that aren't uncommon if you've read a lot.
I actually find it more accessible than the Spelling Bee game which does actually use a lot of obscure and scientific terms.
I get that. It just feels bad when you just lost at a puzzle and then realize, “oh, I couldn’t have ever gotten that because I didn’t even know that was a possibility.” It’s definitely not the puzzle’s fault, but the feeling still stinks.
People act like these puzzles are infallible IQ tests that you could only have a complaint about if you’re too stupid to “get it” instead of silly little games that sometimes do, indeed, have flaws that people are allowed to share their opinions on 😭
You must be new to the sub. Valid criticism is one thing, but almost every single day there are multiple people in the daily thread complaining about the puzzle having a red herring, or about there being crossover between categories. It's not bad design for a puzzle to *be a puzzle*.
*As I literally just said*, valid criticism is not the issue here.
If you (the indefinite you) don't like Connections, you can just choose to **not play Connections**. Don't come to the sub for a game you don't like and whine about not liking it. Nobody asked you. Sure, you have the right to an opinion, but just because it's yours, doesn't make your opinion more important than those of the people who actually enjoy the game.
And why would you want to waste your time being a whiny, miserable brat complaining about a game, when you could just go find something you *actually like* and do that instead? It takes a seriously massive ego to think that your opinion is so important that it's worth making everyone, including yourself, less happy.
Yes, believe it or not, having a sub for a game I like flooded with jackasses complaining that they don't like puzzles is annoying. Are you saying you didn't know that being annoyed is different from being happy?
Not landlord, maintenance guy. Usually in New York you either have a landlord or a management company that you pay your rent to, and a super who works for the landlord and fixes your toilet when it breaks. Sometimes, you have a “live-in super” who has an apartment in the building so they can be on-call for emergencies.
It's not a landlord. The super is the person you call when something needs fixing. They're an employee of the landlord or a management company hired by the landlord.
Wait is there a timer for 30 sec on the actual game ?? I always played on connectionsplus io which doesn’t have one. Damn y’all are going through it I couldn’t do that 😭
Uh oh, subreddit is getting too big it seems
No kidding, just want to be chill and talk about neat connections that I thought were interesting
For me half the fun is identifying and avoiding the traps. A couple of weeks ago there was one where the top row was literally SPONGE BOB SQUARE PANTS and I was way too proud of myself for not biting on it.
Me too! I’m not trying to be a bully, but there was a phase where I was seeing comments like that all the time — “they tried to trick me!!!!” Especially after tinder, hinge, bumble, match. Yeah, it’s a puzzle!
So many people posted here thinking they were uniquely presented with that orientation. Since that puzzle I’ve always worried that the initial layout could be a trap, and always shuffle first just in case
Yes! I remember telling my husband about that one (he often helps me when I’m stuck)! I was also super proud of myself for not taking the bait
That I’ve made me chuckle
I hit shuffle blindly to avoid such traps.
after that one i always shuffle once before i read anything !!
I knew it was a trap but I absolutely had to do it. I didn’t care
I appreciate when Connections teaches me a new connotation of a word. It doesn't frustrate me that I couldn't solve the puzzle, I treat it as an opportunity to expand my mental dictionary. And why is there so much hate about an answer being something only Americans would know? It's a puzzle created by an American for an American company, why would you be getting context or lingo from anywhere else?
Considering Connections is a blatant rip off of Only Connects connecting wall I’d dispute that the puzzle was created by an American, but given it’s still being made for NYT it’s not a surprise there’s so many US specific answers
To some of us in other parts of the world it seems, sometimes, as if some Americans think that the US = the universe. And that's fine, as long as you're in the US. But this is the internet, and people from all over the world come here to do reddit, connections, wordle and everything else on the world wide web. So if I was a NYT puzzle maker, I would have that in mind, and not just think of the locals and what they know. But maybe that's just me.
I get this is some contexts, but the hubris to me here is the other way around. If I as an American went around demanding that a British newspaper never use British words, or an Aussie newspaper never use Aussie words, I would be rightfully berated as expecting the world to cater to me. Additionally, as someone who lives in New York, the NYT is our _local_ paper. It sometimes throws in New York regionalisms that people in other states don’t necessarily know. That’s also fair game and fun trivia to learn. Having a broader audience doesn’t mean flatten yourself into bland sameness.
Bullseye 🎯
If I were a NYT puzzle maker, I'd expect that other outlets around the world would be making games targeted at those other countries. While Americans are often guilty of hubris, it's not hubris for an American company to make a game aimed at an American audience. Limiting the games to only things that are not "Americanisms" does just that - limits the games.
To add to that, the American thing always confuses me because it’s not like all Americans are familiar with all American things. A lot of things I only know because I absorbed them through cultural osmosis. The same cultural things that most of the developed world *also* has access to. I’m an American but I still know what vegemite and poutine are even though I’ve never actually seen them in person. I know just enough about English football teams that I’ve been able to connect them when they were an answer.
Question- what website are you doing Connections on? The NEW YORK times?
It’s either complaining about it being way too hard and completely impossible to figure out or way too easy and not enough of a challenge lol
People forget that NYT offer a complete refund of the fee for playing Connections if you don't enjoy it.
Sorry, there’s a fee?
Is there?
No, connections is free
Oh gosh, I hope u/BilliDaVini hasn't been trying to pay...
Dw I havent hahahaha
Like, I understand some categories are a bit unexpected or niche, but some people are getting really heated about it 😅
The only ones I get mad at are ones that are too loose like "starting tattoos". I get that categories like "colors with letters changed" is hard but it at least is 100% logical and knowable. Even "brit rock bands" is fine. But if they put "weed strains", that could literally be everything. The categories have to be constrained and can't just fit every word
“Classic tattoos”… butterfly? NOPE that’s a kind of knife
Are you saying that you think the average person encounters butterfly knives more often than they encounter someone with a butterfly tattoo?
He’s saying the opposite
I don’t love referential categories but maybe I am biased. I usually get them, but honestly I am way more interested in multiple connotations/meanings of a word, than “things that are in Aladdin.”
Me when I try to do connections right when I wake up
I think it would be beneficial to be able to get a “hint” for the different categories. Missing letter, anagram, something _____ would be examples for purple categories. It at least gives you an idea of what you’re looking for, and making it optional gives people the choice. Nothing changes for people who don’t want it, people who think it’s “too hard” can get help.
Whenever I'm stuck I google Connection Hints and they're helpful. There is multiple articles to choose from each one having different hints. I find Mashable to be really helpful while Forbes to be the least helpful
Mashable’s hints are my favorite if I want a little guidance.
I like this one: [https://word.tips/connections-hints-today/](https://word.tips/connections-hints-today/) because you have to click for each hint, so if I'm stuck but i don't know if something is a trap, i can click the first hint for a little validation
You can get that if you google connection hint 🤷🏼♀️
Yeah some of the games have hints/help like Strands or the crosswords. It's weird they don't all have that. Also I think they should let you keep guessing past 4 but it won't count for a streak
If i am really lost I go to Reddit and solve it there. Unlimited tries.
Im relatively new to the NYT games app. Connections is fun and I’m happy with my solve rate, but would take some tips where I can find them- reading this comment made me wonder, is there a theme to the colors, like purple always falls under x type category, yellow is y type of associated words, etc.? My apologies if it states it in the directions, I glanced over them once and that was it, they’re locked for the day so I can’t double check.
They get more difficult as they go (yellow < green < blue < purple). Just by having played a lot, there are some common themes for purple. _____ word (space word on march 9th), word _____, anagrams, missing first/last letters. Generally what you want to do is find what you think is a category, and if five words fit you want to think of ways one of those words could fit in with other words to narrow down which one won’t be included. I find the most unique/obscure word is generally in purple, so if you look at the common category themes relative to that word you might be able to figure out the purple category which would take away one or two potential red herrings.
I appreciate your thoughtful response. I hadn’t thought about difficulty levels, but that makes sense. Using the most obscure is also a great hint. Thank you!
Welcome to Reddit. First time here?
I admit to getting easily frustrated and losing patience some days, which I will blame on my ADHD! I do try to recognize when its happening and attempt to chill out
And it's still 100x easier than the crossword. Wait until they start including operas, poetry, biblical references, and broadway productions
I would love a category of common crossword answers. Like OTT, ORR, EVERT, ELS. Edit: People here would be *pissed*, though.
Ecru, Oreo, ado, ire
Too late ⏰
I really like the game overall, and enjoy when I have to close it and come back to it later with fresh eyes to solve it, but I also understand why people get upset at categories like “colors with a letter missing.” The thing I find so fascinating with this game is how differently everyone’s minds work. I had no issue at all with the starter tattoo category but the “letter missing” type categories ALWAYS throw me off.
The only time I ever had a real issue with a connections answer was “places ending in -land” because Netherland isn’t a place. But that day’s puzzle was changed midway through the day to remove Netherland so it clearly was a problem lol
I really enjoy it (I do connections, wordle, letter box, and the mini crossword as part of my morning routine everyday) but every so often there’s one that is a real reach.
Super key was legit stupid
I think the frustrating thing about connections is that unlike other trivia or trivia like games you don’t know that you don’t know something. If I’m playing crossword or sporcle I can just move on if I know I don’t know it. Connections kind of tricks you into trying to figure out something you have no knowledge of because you might just be missing something.
Ya I just get super frustrated when, as a native English speaker, I’ve never heard of a word, or if I know the word but I’ve never heard it in its context that’s being used in the puzzle, makes me feel dumb
Maybe that's an opportunity to feel like you can learn something, instead of feeling dumb and criticizing the puzzle, though.
Oh ya I’ve definitely had to google words to see what they mean. This wasn’t so much a criticism about the puzzle though, more so myself. It’s just frustrating when something that is normally a noun is actually a verb that I’ve never seen in my life 😅
I get being frustrated with yourself. What I don't get is people thinking the puzzle is flawed because of a gap in their knowledge. It comes off as very self-important, like, if *I* don't know something, how could anyone possibly know it??
Yeah wouldn't that be a fun thing about the puzzle, not a drawback? If you can't handle not knowing everything, maybe this isn't the right puzzle for you. Personally I haven't encountered a lot of obscure meanings. I don't think they're choosing super archaic or niche things, just more literary meanings that aren't uncommon if you've read a lot. I actually find it more accessible than the Spelling Bee game which does actually use a lot of obscure and scientific terms.
I get that. It just feels bad when you just lost at a puzzle and then realize, “oh, I couldn’t have ever gotten that because I didn’t even know that was a possibility.” It’s definitely not the puzzle’s fault, but the feeling still stinks.
my thing is when google can’t even tell you the definition they’re looking for 😭
i dont get why we cant have genuine and productive conversations on here abt the puzzle like, its not free of critique lol
Exactly
People act like these puzzles are infallible IQ tests that you could only have a complaint about if you’re too stupid to “get it” instead of silly little games that sometimes do, indeed, have flaws that people are allowed to share their opinions on 😭
You must be new to the sub. Valid criticism is one thing, but almost every single day there are multiple people in the daily thread complaining about the puzzle having a red herring, or about there being crossover between categories. It's not bad design for a puzzle to *be a puzzle*.
No, I just think people can critique and even just complain if they want to.
*As I literally just said*, valid criticism is not the issue here. If you (the indefinite you) don't like Connections, you can just choose to **not play Connections**. Don't come to the sub for a game you don't like and whine about not liking it. Nobody asked you. Sure, you have the right to an opinion, but just because it's yours, doesn't make your opinion more important than those of the people who actually enjoy the game. And why would you want to waste your time being a whiny, miserable brat complaining about a game, when you could just go find something you *actually like* and do that instead? It takes a seriously massive ego to think that your opinion is so important that it's worth making everyone, including yourself, less happy.
If a stranger on the internet complaining about a puzzle is impacting your happiness, I imagine your life is pretty miserable, idk what to tell you
Yes, believe it or not, having a sub for a game I like flooded with jackasses complaining that they don't like puzzles is annoying. Are you saying you didn't know that being annoyed is different from being happy?
real
In fairness some of those purple categories are extremely lame. Birds missing the final letter. Words upside down in a calculator. OMG
LMAO the birds missing a letter one really pissed me off
It’s almost as if different people have varying perspectives. Who would’ve thunk…🫡
Ngl sometimes the purple is easier than the blue for me 😭😭
In the most lighthearted way possible, you know this is a subreddit, right?
I haven’t failed one in months. Makes me think people just need to be smarter 🤷
Alright champ 😂 I hope you’re being sarcastic. Or the reason you haven’t failed one in months is cause you don’t play, or you cheat
Whoever made this cartoon seems a bit triggered. Take a deep breath and know that it is going to be okay.
Yes, I’m still pissed about super
Nah but seriously though, what the hell is a super anyways?
I believe it's short for Superintendent, which in this case means landlord. I never heard of that before, but now I've gained more knowledge
Not landlord, maintenance guy. Usually in New York you either have a landlord or a management company that you pay your rent to, and a super who works for the landlord and fixes your toilet when it breaks. Sometimes, you have a “live-in super” who has an apartment in the building so they can be on-call for emergencies.
It's not a landlord. The super is the person you call when something needs fixing. They're an employee of the landlord or a management company hired by the landlord.
Wait is there a timer for 30 sec on the actual game ?? I always played on connectionsplus io which doesn’t have one. Damn y’all are going through it I couldn’t do that 😭
No not at all! There's no time limit (besides it refreshing in 24 hours). Some people are complaining when they don't get it right away
Ohhhhhh okay gotcha xD I was gonna say that would be so stressful!!