Looking for a different day?
A new NEW Connections puzzle pops up at midnight every day for your time zone – meaning some people are always playing “today’s game” while others are playing “yesterday’s”. If you’re looking for the Monday puzzle instead then click here: NEW Connections Hints and Answers for Monday, October 20 (Game #862).
Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the NYT’s clever word game that challenges you to group answers into different categories. It can be difficult, so read on if you need Connections tips.
What are you going to do when you’re done? Why, play some more puns of course. I also have daily Strands Hints and Answers and Quordle Hints and Answers articles if you need help with those too, while Marc’s Wordle Today page covers the original viral pun.
SPOILER ALERT: Today’s NYT Connections information is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NEW Connections today (game #863) – word of the day
Today’s NEW Connections word is…
- BUCK
- DO
- Taurus
- DRONES
- QUEENS
- HORNETS
- ADDRESSES
- TV
- GARAGE DOORS
- HANDLE
- KINGS
- JACKS
- TRACKING
- ACES
- TACKLES
- WIIS
NEW Connections today (game #863) – tip #1 – group tip
What are some clues for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Leaders of the pack
- GREEN: Getting involved
- BLUE: Basketball pages
- PURPLE: Use the zapper
Need more clues?
We’re firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today’s NYT Connections puzzles…
NEW Connections today (game #863) – hint #2 – group answer
What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: PLAYING CARD
- GREEN: GAINING
- BLUE: NBA TEAMS
- PURPLE: THINGS YOU CAN CONTROL WITH REMOTE CONTROLS
Okay, the answers are below, so DON’T SCROLL IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NEW Connections today (game #863) – the answers
The answers to today’s Connections, game #863, are…
- YELLOW: PLAYING CARD Aces, Jacks, Kings, Queens
- GREEN: GAINING ADDRESSES, DOES, HANDLES, TACKLES
- BLUE: NBA TEAMS BUCKS, BULLS, HORNETS, SPURS
- PURPLE: THINGS YOU CAN CONTROL WITH REMOTE CONTROLS DRONES, GARAGE DOORS, TV, WIIS
- My assessment: Hard
- My score: 3 errors
I made a pig’s ear of my first batch and made several mistakes even though I had a good idea of what we were looking for.
I was sure the BULLS and SPURS were basketball teams, but I was convinced the KINGS were too. I wasn’t wrong – but they didn’t make the cut. I also added the ACES which is a WNBA team instead of an NBA team.
I got there eventually, but it cost me three mistakes when there were far easier groups I could have focused on – PLAYING CARDS, for example, would have saved me a lot of time by eliminating Aces and KINGS.
It’s all designed to rip us off, I know, and I’m sure we all need to watch out for these exploits, but I can’t help but fall for these traps sometimes.
Yesterday’s NYT Connections Answers (Monday, October 20, Game #862)
- YELLOW: PING BUGBEAR, COMPLEX, DEMON, HANG UP
- GREEN: REPRESENTED BY CONSTELLATIONS GREAT BEAR, CENTAUR, HUNTER, LYRE
- BLUE: PERIODIC TABLE SYMBOLS AS, BE, I, K
- PURPLE: ____MARN A, CAPRI, POP, UNI
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games created by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four elements that share something in common, and each group has a different degree of difficulty: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough, and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you technically don’t need to solve the last one, as you’ll be able to answer it by a process of elimination. Also, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It’s a little more involved than something like Wordle, though, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to let you play tricks. For example, watch out for homophones and other puns that can hide the answers.
It can be played for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
