NYT Connections, a daily word puzzle game from The New York Times, challenges players to find hidden connections between words and group them into sets of four. The game, developed by The New York Times as part of its gaming offerings, launched for PC on June 12, 2023, during its beta testing phase. It quickly gained popularity and is now the second-most-played game after Wordle. To aid players, this guide offers hints and answers for the August 23, 2025, puzzle, encouraging careful reading to avoid spoilers.
Connections tasks players with testing their vocabulary and enhancing their word knowledge. Created by Wyna Liu, associate puzzle editor at The New York Times, the game presents 16 random words that must be sorted into unfamiliar categories. Players can choose from three difficulty levels – Easy, Medium, and Hard – and enjoy a fun and engaging way to improve their vocabulary and challenge their minds. The game has become a sensation on social media platforms, with players sharing their successes and failures.
Today’s hints are:
Yellow – Contemporary tech creations that reshaped everyday life.
Green – Essential fluids for running and protecting a vehicle.
Blue – Terms for crafty deception and underhanded tricks.
Purple – Words for large venues used for sports and spectacles.
The categories for today’s puzzle are:
Yellow – MODERN INVENTIONS
Green – LIQUIDS YOU PUT INTO CARS
Blue – SKULDUGGERY
Purple – ARENA
The answers for August 23, 2025, are:
Yellow – MODERN INVENTIONS: CRYPTO, PODCAST, SMARTWATCH, VAPE
Green – LIQUIDS YOU PUT INTO CARS: BRAKE FLUID, COOLANT, FUEL, OIL
Blue – SKULDUGGERY: CHICANERY, DECEIT, LEGERDMAIN, SUBTERFUGE
Purple – ARENA: BOWL, COLISEUM, HIPPODROME, STADIUM
To play Connections, players are presented with a grid of words and must identify the hidden connections. The puzzle requires players to think about synonyms, antonyms, and word families to find the correct groupings. Players can use hints if needed. The game tracks daily streaks and overall progress, and players can challenge friends. A new puzzle is released every day at midnight. Players must organize 16 words into four groups of four based on their connections. The categories can include clickable items, names of research participants, or words preceded by a body part.
Players need to be aware that words can sometimes fit into multiple categories, and mixing up the words can help reveal the connections. The groups are colour-coded, with yellow typically being the easiest, blue and green of medium difficulty, and purple being the hardest. Purple often involves wordplay. Players select four words and submit their answers; incorrect guesses result in a lost life. Correct groupings display a message, informing that the correct answer is just one word away from success. Making four mistakes results in a game over.
