The New York Times’ Connections game continues to captivate puzzle lovers with its unique daily challenge. Every day, players must group 16 seemingly unrelated words into four connected categories. With varying levels of difficulty, this game tests vocabulary skills, pattern recognition, and creative thinking.
How to Play NYT Connections
In Connections, you’re presented with 16 words and tasked with organizing them into four groups of four. Each group shares a hidden connection—sometimes obvious, sometimes mind-bendingly subtle. The four color-coded categories indicate the level of difficulty:
Yellow – Easy
Green – Moderate
Blue – Challenging
Purple – Tricky
You have a maximum of four mistakes before the game ends. New puzzles are released daily at midnight.
Hints for Today’s NYT Connections Puzzle
Need a push in the right direction without giving it all away? Here are your subtle hints for today’s puzzle:
Yellow: Related to spontaneous choices or urges.
Green: Words used to classify or categorize things.
Blue: Last names of famous individuals from different fields.
Purple: Everyday words that sound different when they’re proper nouns.
Today’s NYT Connections Answers for April 2, 2025
If you’ve reached your limit or simply want to check your work, here are the full answers and groupings for today’s puzzle #661:
Impulse Decisions
Fancy
Impulse
Lark
Whim
Classifications
Ilk
Kind
Sort
Type
Williamses (Famous People with the Surname Williams)
Hank
Robin
Tennessee
Venus
Words Pronounced Differently as Proper Nouns
Herb
Job
Nice
Reading
Tips to Solve the NYT Mini Crossword
While solving Connections is one challenge, the NYT Mini Crossword offers another bite-sized brain workout. To speed up your solving:
Begin with fill-in-the-blank clues.
Use crossing letters to confirm uncertain answers.
Don’t overthink – many clues are more literal than they appear.
Practice daily to build confidence and pattern recognition.
Strategies to Solve NYT Connections
Improve your Connections game with these expert tips:
Spot Obvious Pairs: Start with words that clearly relate, then search for others to complete the group.
Think Outside the Box: Words may be linked by pop culture, grammar, pronunciation, or puns.
Shuffle and Reset: Reorganizing words on the board can reveal hidden connections.
Be Mindful of Misleading Words: Some words seem to fit in multiple groups—stay sharp and reevaluate if necessary.