The work week is slowly but surely winding down but that doesn’t mean Connections is—and today’s puzzle is as tricky as any other.
Since its debut in The New York Times in June 2023, Connections has quickly built a large following. The puzzle challenges players to group words based on subtle links, combining logic with language skills. Today, it ranks as the publication’s second-most popular game, just after Wordle.
According to the publication, Thursday’s game difficulty is rated 3.3 out of 5, with the website explaining: “The difficulty of each puzzle is determined by averaging the ratings provided by a panel of testers who are paid to solve each puzzle in advance to help us catch bugs, inconsistencies and other issues. A higher rating means the puzzle is more difficult.”
Newsweek has put together some advice on how to play as well as hints and the answers for Thursday’s game, so be careful scrolling down if you want to solve it by yourself.
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How to Play ‘Connections’
Each Connections puzzle includes 16 words, which players need to sort into four categories. The goal is to find the common theme for each category, represented by colors: yellow, green, blue, and purple. The categories increase in difficulty, with yellow being the simplest, followed by green, blue, and finally purple—the most challenging and often the most abstract. Some words may seem to fit multiple categories, which can be misleading.
If stuck, players can hit the shuffle button, which will mix up where the words appear on the screen.
Wyna Liu, a crossword editor at The Times who was asked to develop Connections, told Newsweek about her recommended tips for playing the game.
“My best piece of advice is to wait as long as you can before guessing,” she said.
“You may see the board and have completely identified the category, seeing five words that could belong in that category,” she continued. “Don’t try to guess the four words in that category because even though you know what the fifth member is, you won’t know which of the four it might not be,” which would ultimately waste a turn.
“Don’t do what I do, which is ‘rage solve,'” Liu said.
‘Connections’ #529 Clues for Thursday, November 21
Newsweek has some hints to help you figure out today’s Connections categories.
Yellow: Different varieties of clothing items that people wear on their torso.
Green: Ingredient of a popular beverage that originated in Taiwan.
Blue: Words that relate to marine life.
Purple: The start of four different words that when complete, spell out a type of food.
‘Connections’ #529 Answers for Thursday, November 21
Yellow Category: KINDS OF SHIRTS
Yellow Words: Flannel, Oxford, Polo, Tee
Green Category: SPHERES IN MILK TEA
Green Words: Boba, Bubble, Pearl, Tapioca
Blue Category: MARINE INVERTEBRATES, FAMILIARLY
Blue Words: Coral, Jelly, Sponge, Star
Purple Category: STARTS OF PASTA NAMES
Purple Words: Fett, Penn, Torte, Zit
Did you guess the answers correctly? If so, congratulations. If not, there will be another opportunity to crack the puzzle tomorrow.
Connections is released at midnight in your local time zone. Newsweek will be back with another round of hints and tips for each new game.
In the meantime, you could try your hand at Wordle—another popular game from The New York Times, for which Newsweek also provides daily hints.