It’s Friday, puzzle lovers, and that means a new round of hints and clues from Newsweek to help you lock down another Connections win.
The popular linguistics game was released by The New York Times in 2023, and today boasts a large following of dedicated players.
Keep scrolling for Newsweek‘s top tips to help you solve #649.
How To Play ‘Connections’
Each day, Connections users are presented with a new 16-word puzzle, which they are tasked with dividing into four categories based on common themes.
These groups are color-coded by difficulty level: yellow (easiest), green, blue, and purple (hardest). Once players correctly identify a group, those words will be highlighted and removed from the board.
For example, Thursday’s puzzle linked the words “direct,” “frank,” “loud” and “vocal” under the yellow category, “Outspoken.”
If you are feeling particularly stuck, then players can click the “shuffle” button to rearrange the board and try to make the process of guessing a little bit easier. Thankfully, there is no time limit to the game, and there’s no harm in taking your time before sending in your guesses.
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Wyna Liu, a puzzle editor at the New York Times who was asked to develop Connections, told Newsweek about her recommended tips for playing the brainteaser.
“My best piece of advice is to wait as long as you can before guessing,” she said in June.
“You may see the board and have completely identified the category, seeing five words that could belong in that category,” Liu 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.”
“Don’t do what I do, which is ‘rage-solve,'” Liu added.
‘Connections’ #649 Hints and Clues for Friday, March 21
Below are Newsweek‘s hints to help you with Friday’s game:
Yellow: Social environment
Green: Someone who inspires others
Blue: Helpful instruments an architect might use
Purple: Words after “Bar”
‘Connections’ #649 Answers for Friday, March 21
Yellow Category: MILIEU
Yellow Words: Circle, Scene, Sphere, World
Green Category: LUMINARY
Green Words: Great, Icon, Legend, Lion
Blue Category: ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING TOOLS
Blue Words: Compass, Ruler, Stencil, T-Square
Purple Category: BAR ___
Purple Words: Chart, Exam, Mitzvah, Soap
Way to go if you managed to solve all four Connections categories! Or even if you got just one or two. Don’t stress, though, if you didn’t—it was hard. Luckily, you will get another chance to play on Saturday when a new game will be available for you to try.
Connections is released at midnight in your local time zone, so be sure to check back with Newsweek daily for more hints, clues and answers.
For now, keep your brain active with these other popular word-based games.