Connections first launched in June 2023, and it did not take long for the word game become a big hit.
The daily puzzle became so popular, it quickly gained second place as the most-played game on the New York Times Games app and website, following its other hit, Wordle.
Keep scrolling for tips on today’s Connections game, but be warned: the answers for puzzle #509 will be revealed at the bottom of the page. So, if you would rather avoid spoilers, we advise you scroll with caution.
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How to Play ‘Connections’
Players are tasked with finding a common theme from a 16-word table. There are four words in each of the four themes, but some words can belong to more than one group. For example, a previous Connections puzzle featured the words “cater,” “host,” “plan” and “throw” in the category “Help put on a party.”
Each theme is separated into a color from yellow, blue, green and purple, each reflecting a different level of difficulty, ascending from the easiest, yellow. Players get four chances to make a mistake before losing the game. The puzzles are not always straightforward and use a range of possible associations from homophones and wordplay, among other techniques.
Once you have selected four words, you’ll click the “Submit” button. If your choices are correct, they’ll appear in the category color and disappear from the grid. If they are incorrect, however, they will remain gray in color and stay on the board.
If you are stuck, try selecting the “Shuffle” button to move the words to a different place on the grid. This may just give you the refresh you were looking for.
The answers for Friday’s puzzle are toward the end of the article, so scroll with caution if you want to work them out yourself.
‘Connections’ #509 Clues for Friday, November 1
Newsweek has some hints to help you figure out today’s Connections categories.
Yellow: Moving at a glacial pace.
Green: How you might drink a beer at a bar.
Blue: The different shapes that cheesy chips can come in.
Purple: Each of these words can precede “effect.”
‘Connections’ #509 Answers for Friday, November 1
Yellow Category: PROGRESS SLOWLY
Yellow Words: Crawl, Creep, Drag, Inch
Green Category: WAYS TO DRINK A BEER
Green Words: Bottle, Can, Draft, Tap
Blue Category: CHEESY CORN SNACK UNIT
Blue Words: Puff, Ball, Curl, Doodle
Purple Category: ___ EFFECT
Purple Words: Halo, Butterfly, Placebo, Domino
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 another popular New York Times game, Wordle, for which Newsweek also provides daily hints.