In January 2022 The New York Times purchased word game Wordle for a low seven-figure sum following an explosion in its popularity across the English-speaking world.
The following year, presumably in a bid to capitalize on this success, the paper launched Connections. The new game has already proven popular and gained a dedicated following, some of whom take to social media each day to share tips and their results.
How to Play 'Connections'
Each day Connections players are presented with 16 words, which they are tasked with dividing into four categories based around common characteristics.
The four categories are all color coded to show their difficulty, with yellow being the easiest then green, blue and purple. Players choose four words at a time and if they are connected, constituting one of the four categories, they light up and are removed from the board. At this point their color is also revealed, showing how difficult the quiz setters expected that set of connections to be.
If a player guesses incorrect groups of words four times the game ends and they are defeated. There is no time limit for the game.
At any point the player can shuffle the board resulting in the 16 words being randomly repositioned.
According to Connections editor Wyna Liu if you have five cards that all seem to belong in the same category your best move may well be to try and figure out a different category, then come back to the original one once some of the words are eliminated.
She commented: "Doing so might take one of those extra cards out of contention, or at least remove a few cards from the board, making other categories easier to see."
The answers for Sunday's Connections puzzle will be revealed at the end of this article, so please scroll down with caution if you want to work them out yourself.
'Connections' #399 Clues for Sunday, July 14
Newsweek has some hints to help you figure out today's Connections categories.
Yellow: Sharp objects.
Green: What state things are in.
Blue: Connected to employment.
Purple: Words before something that can be edible.
'Connections' #399 Answers for Sunday, July 14
Yellow Category: SLENDER PROJECTIONS
Yellow Words: POINT, FINE, GOOD, MINT
Green Category: CONDITIONS FOR COLLECTIBLES
Green Words: FAIR, FINE, GOOD, MINT
Blue Category: PROFESSION
Blue Words: BUSINESS, FIELD, LINE, TRADE
Purple Category: WORDS BEFORE "NUT"
Purple Words: BRAZIL, BUTTER, DOUGH, PINE
Well that was fun! Did you figure it out the right answers? If so congratulations but please don't be discouraged if not. One of our favorite things about Connections is seeing if we can improve our scores over time. Another puzzle will be released on Monday and Newsweek will be back with another round of hints and tips.
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About the writer
James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is covering U.S. politics and world ... Read more
