The New York Times Connections

Word game

2023 video game

The New York Times Connections

Developer(s)| The New York Times
Publisher(s)| The New York Times Games
Writer(s)| Wyna Liu
Platform(s)| Web, iOS, Android
Release| June 12, 2023
Genre(s)| Word game
Mode(s)| Single-player

Connections is a word puzzle developed and published by The New York Times. It was released on June 12, 2023. During its beta phase, several people associated with Only Connect, a British television quiz show, commented on its similarity to the Connecting Wall in the program. It is the second-most-played game that is published by The New York Times Games, behind Wordle.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

## Gameplay

[edit]

A partially completed game of Connections from March 12, 2024. The remaining answers are: "Also, And, Plus, With" in green for "Including", and "Daddy, Harlem, Howl, If" in purple for "Famous poems".

In Connections, the goal is to divide a grid of sixteen words into four groups of four such that the words in each group belong to a specific category (e.g., "dog", "cat", "fish", and "parrot" for the category "Household Pets").[8] The categories may involve wordplay such as palindromes or homophones, increasing the difficulty.[1] When a player successfully identifies a group, its category is revealed along with a color-coded difficulty level: categories are rated yellow, green, blue, or purple, with yellow being the most straightforward and purple being the most difficult. Each Connections game has one category from each difficulty level.[1]

For April Fools' Day of 2024, the game temporarily used emojis instead of words.[9]

## Development

[edit]

The games department of the Times hosts an annual game jam in which participants suggest ideas for upcoming games to release to the website.[10] Connections had been in development for a year before releasing in its beta phase on June 12, 2023.[5][11] Wyna Liu, editor of the Times and Connections's puzzles, was inspired by cartoonist Robert Leighton, who made puzzles involving wordplay.[12]

## Sports edition

[edit]

2024 video game

Connections: Sports Edition

Developer(s)| The Athletic
Publisher(s)| The New York Times Games
Writer(s)| Mark Cooper
Platform(s)| Web, iOS, Android
Release| September 24, 2024
Genre(s)| Word game
Mode(s)| Single-player

On September 24, 2024, The Athletic, in partnership with The New York Times Games, launched a sports edition of Connections in beta. The sports edition features the same gameplay as the regular version, with each grouping sports-themed.[13][14]

## See also

[edit]

* The New York Times Games – Casual games by The New York Times

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Liu, Wyna (June 26, 2023). "How Our New Game, Connections, Is Put Together". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
2. ^ Abdul, Geneva (June 15, 2023). "What connects Only Connect and New York Times? Game's similarity puzzles host". The Guardian. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
3. ^ @VictoriaCoren (June 14, 2023). "Do you know this has been a TV show in the UK since 2008 ?! It's so similar I guess you must do?" (Tweet). Retrieved January 26, 2024 - via Twitter.
4. ^ "The New York Times' Latest Puzzle Seems Awfully Familiar". Kotaku. June 19, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
5. ^ a b Valinsky, Jordan (August 28, 2023). "Move over Wordle, the New York Times might have found its next hit game". CNN Business. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
6. ^ Miller, Chance (August 28, 2023). "Connections puzzle game comes to NYT Games app on iPhone and iPad". 9to5Mac. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
7. ^ Silberling, Amanda (August 28, 2023). "Connections is The New York Times' most played game after Wordle". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
8. ^ Morris, Chris (August 15, 2023). "NYT Connections, and the company's quest to create the next Wordle". Fast Company. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
9. ^ Hart, Jordan (April 1, 2024). "The NYT Connections game got an April Fools' Day makeover, and users are freaking out". MSN. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
10. ^ Amlen, Deb (April 10, 2023). "How We Make Games at The Times". The New York Times. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
11. ^ Webster, Andrew (August 28, 2023). "The New York Times' new word game Connections rolls out on mobile". The Verge. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
12. ^ Jeffrey, Joyann (August 29, 2023). "Connections is the NYT's new Wordle alternative. Here's how to play". Today. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
13. ^ Effress, Sarah (September 24, 2024). "What is Connections: Sports Edition? Explaining the new twist on New York Times' viral game". Sporting News. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
14. ^ Cooper, Mark (September 25, 2024). "Try playing The Athletic's first game, Connections: Sports Edition, now in beta". The Athletic. Retrieved October 31, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* The New York Times Connections at MobyGames

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