Happy Friday, puzzle enthusiasts! If you are having a tough time working out today’s Connections game, then Newsweek has your back.
The brainteaser was launched by The New York Times in 2023, and today, it’s the publication’s second-most-played game behind Josh Wardle’s Wordle.
Keep scrolling for Newsweek‘s handy hints for #656, but be warned: The answers to the puzzle will also be revealed at the bottom of the page, so if you would like to work them out for yourself, we advise you scroll with caution to avoid spoilers.
How To Play ‘Connections’
Connections tasks players with grouping 16 words into four categories based on association.
Each of the four categories is labeled with a color, which also signifies their difficulty level. Yellow is the easiest category, followed by green, blue and purple. The puzzles are rarely straightforward and use homophones and wordplay—among other techniques—to keep players challenged.
If you are particularly stuck, players can hit the shuffle button, which will rearrange where the words appear on the screen.
Iuliia Zavalishina/iStock / Getty Images Plus
Wyna Liu, a puzzle editor at The New York Times who creates the daily Connections games, told Newsweek about her best advice for solving the game.
“Wait as long as you can before guessing,” she said last year. “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.”
“Don’t do what I do, which is ‘rage solve,'” Liu added.
‘Connections’ #656 Hints and Clues for Friday, March 28
Below are Newsweek‘s top tips to help you with Friday’s game:
Yellow: To throw, toss
Green: On either side of something or someone
Blue: Associated with Girl Scouts
Purple: Words before “Hall”
‘Connections’ #656 Answers for Friday, March 28
Yellow Category: HURL
Yellow Words: Chuck, Pelt, Pitch, Sling
Green Category: BE ON BOTH SIDES OF
Green Words: Bookend, Bracket, Flank, Surround
Blue Category: PARTS OF A CLASSIC GIRL SCOUT UNIFORM
Blue Words: Badge, Beret, Sash, Skirt
Purple Category: ___ HALL
Purple Words: Bingo, City, Monty, Study
Congratulations if you solved today’s Connections puzzle correctly! But don’t sweat it if you didn’t. 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, why not keep your brain active with these other popular word games?