The "Connections: Sports Edition" is a newly introduced variant of the well-known New York Times word game that is targeting sports enthusiasts. This game challenges players to identify "common threads between words," similar to the format of "Connections." Much like "Wordle," the game refreshes daily at midnight, presenting increasingly challenging word sets. To assist players, hints and tips are offered to help overcome these challenges.
The latest daily word game from the New York Times, created in partnership with The Athletic—its sports coverage wing—is available on both web browsers and mobile devices. The goal is for players to group four words that have a shared connection.
Each puzzle consists of 16 words divided into four different categories. These categories could include anything from book titles to software and country names. Players must correctly identify one possible grouping for the words, despite multiple plausible connections. Successful identification of all four words in a category removes them from the board, while wrong guesses count as mistakes. Players have up to four mistakes before the game concludes.
Players are able to rearrange and shuffle the board to aid in making connections. The groups are color-coded for difficulty: yellow signifies the easiest group, followed by green, blue, and purple. Additionally, like Wordle, results can be shared on social media platforms.
The categories for today’s "Connections Sports Edition," without revealing the specific categories, are hinted as follows:
- Yellow: A demoralizing victory
- Green: Sports that share a tool
- Blue: Lead from beyond the arc
- Purple: Sports that share a specific foul/flag
For today’s game, the categories and solutions are as follows:
- A demoralizing victory: CRUSH, FLATTEN, PULVERIZE, TROUNCE
- Racket sports: BADMINTON, PICKLEBALL, SQUASH, TENNIS
- NBA career 3-point leaders: ALLEN, CURRY, HARDEN, LILLARD
- Sports with false starts: FOOTBALL, SPEED SKATING, SWIMMING, TRACK AND FIELD
Players who did not solve it today have the opportunity to try again with new challenges tomorrow, with additional hints to be provided. Those interested in more puzzles can explore a variety of games including Mahjong, Sudoku, and free crossword puzzles on Mashable’s games hub. For any missed solutions, previous answers are also available.
