Connections is a new daily word game from the New York Times that's quickly gaining popularity. The game challenges players to find common threads between four words, with increasing difficulty each day. Similar to Wordle, Connections resets after midnight, and players can share their results on social media. The game features 16 words divided into four categories, with each category having a unique theme. Players need to identify the correct grouping of words within each category, earning points for correct answers and facing penalties for incorrect guesses. The game also allows for rearranging and shuffling the board to make spotting connections easier.

😁 **Gameplay and Objectives:** Connections challenges players to find four words that share a common theme, grouped into four categories. The game features 16 words in total, and each correct grouping earns points. Incorrect guesses result in penalties, and players have a limited number of mistakes before the game ends.

😊 **Categories and Difficulty:** The game's categories can range from book titles to software, country names, and more. Each category is color-coded, with yellow representing the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple, indicating increasing difficulty.

🤔 **Tips and Strategies:** To succeed in Connections, players can utilize strategies such as rearranging the board, looking for patterns and associations between words, and utilizing the color-coding system to prioritize easier categories.

🥳 **Social Sharing and Community:** Connections, like Wordle, allows players to share their results on social media, fostering a sense of community and friendly competition among players.

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for October 22's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hit about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

Yellow: Associated with high-quality goods

Green: Master plan

Blue: Spaceships

Purple: Name is the game

Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

Yellow: Brand-Name

Green: Devise

Blue: NASA Spacecraft

Purple: Games Where You Say The Game's Name

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #499 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

Brand-Name: DESIGNER, HAUTE, HIGH-END, LUXURY

Devise: CONCOCT, ENGINEER, HATCH, MASTERMIND

NASA Spacecraft: GALILEO, PIONEER, VIKING, VOYAGER

Games Where You Say The Game's Name: BINGO, MARCO POLO, TAG, UNO

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.