TL;DR
- NYT Connections challenges players to group 16 words into four color-coded categories by difficulty
- Today’s puzzle features Value (Yellow), Radio (Green), Film Subgenres (Blue), and 90s Films (Purple) categories
- Strategic thinking and pattern recognition are crucial for solving harder categories efficiently
- Avoid common mistakes like forcing connections and overlooking word versatility
- Daily practice and systematic approaches significantly improve puzzle-solving speed and accuracy
NYT Connections presents players with a fresh word association challenge each day, testing your ability to identify hidden relationships between seemingly random terms. This popular puzzle from The New York Times builds on the success of Wordle, offering a more complex mental exercise that rewards lateral thinking and vocabulary knowledge.
The game interface displays 16 carefully selected words arranged in a 4×4 grid format. Your objective involves discovering the thematic links that unite these terms and organizing them into four distinct groups. Each category is assigned a specific color—yellow, green, blue, and purple—that corresponds to its relative difficulty level. The yellow group typically represents the most straightforward connections, while purple categories demand the most creative and nuanced thinking.
As a completely free gaming experience, NYT Connections is accessible across both mobile devices and desktop platforms. The New York Times designed this puzzle to capture the same addictive quality that made Wordle a global phenomenon, while introducing deeper cognitive challenges that appeal to dedicated puzzle enthusiasts.

Each Connections puzzle features four meticulously crafted categories that range from readily apparent to delightfully obscure. Understanding the color-coded difficulty system is essential for developing an effective solving strategy. Beginners should typically tackle the yellow group first, as these connections are designed to be the most intuitive and straightforward.
For today’s specific puzzle #887 on November 14, 2025, the category hints provide crucial starting points:
- 🟨 Yellow category hint – Value (easiest: focus on monetary, ethical, or numerical associations)
- 🟩 Green category hint – Radio (medium: consider broadcasting, equipment, or communication aspects)
- 🟦 Blue category hint – Subgenre of films (challenging: think beyond main genres to specific cinematic categories)
- 🟪 Purple category hint – ’90s films (most difficult: requires specific knowledge of 1990s cinema)
Approaching the puzzle systematically can dramatically improve your solving efficiency. Start by scanning all 16 words for obvious connections to the yellow category, then progressively work through the remaining groups. The purple category often contains the most creative wordplay or specialized knowledge, so save it for last when you’ve eliminated other possibilities.
Looking for additional mental challenges? Don’t overlook today’s NYT Strands hint and answer — another engaging puzzle that complements your Connections experience.
Seasoned Connections players develop specific techniques that significantly enhance their solving capabilities. One crucial strategy involves identifying ‘bridge words’ that could potentially fit multiple categories—these often indicate you need to reconsider your initial assumptions. Another effective approach is to look for words that share multiple potential relationships, as these frequently point toward the more challenging purple category.
Common mistakes that hinder puzzle progress include forcing connections too early in the solving process. Players often become attached to their initial theories and miss more subtle relationships. Another frequent error involves overlooking words that can function as different parts of speech or have multiple meanings, which is particularly important in the harder categories.
Optimization for advanced players involves developing a systematic word analysis routine. First, quickly scan for obvious thematic groups. Then, identify words with potential double meanings. Finally, systematically test hypotheses by mentally grouping words before committing to selections. This method reduces errors and preserves your limited mistakes allowance.
Time management varies significantly by player experience. Beginners might require 15-20 minutes to complete a puzzle, while seasoned solvers often finish in 5-10 minutes. The most challenging purple categories typically consume 40-60% of your total solving time, so budget accordingly.
When you encounter particularly stubborn puzzles, knowing where to find reliable answers becomes essential. Our daily Connections solutions provide not just the correct groupings but also explanations of the thematic connections, helping you understand the puzzle designer’s logic and improve your future performance.
Developing consistent puzzle-solving skills requires understanding the game’s deeper mechanics. Connections puzzles often employ specific types of word relationships: synonym groups, shared prefixes or suffixes, common phrases, or cultural references. Recognizing these patterns is key to becoming an efficient solver.
For players seeking to enhance their gaming expertise across similar titles, our Complete Guide to strategic gameplay offers valuable insights that translate well to puzzle-solving mentality.
Regular practice significantly improves your ability to spot connections quickly. Many dedicated players develop almost instinctual recognition of common puzzle themes and word relationship types. This cultivated intuition separates casual players from truly proficient solvers who can tackle even the most challenging purple categories with confidence.
If you’re interested in developing systematic approaches to complex games, our Class Guide provides methodologies for analytical thinking that directly benefit Connections gameplay.
Action Checklist
- Scan all 16 words for obvious yellow category connections first
- Identify potential bridge words that could fit multiple categories
- Systematically test green and blue category hypotheses before committing
- Analyze remaining words for purple category connections using lateral thinking
- Review mistakes to understand puzzle logic and improve future performance
No reproduction without permission:Tsp Game Club » NYT Connections Hints Today: Answers & Clues for November 14, 2025 Master NYT Connections with daily hints, strategies, and expert puzzle-solving techniques
