Want a different day?
A new NYT Connections puzzle appears every day at midnight for your time zone – which means some people are still playing “today’s game” while others are playing “yesterday’s.” If you are looking for the Monday puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections Tips and Answers for Monday, October 20 (Thu #862).
Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the clever word game from the New York Times that challenges you to group answers into different categories. This can be difficult, so read on if you need tips on connections.
What should you do once you’re done? Well, play other word games of course. I also have daily Strands tips and answers and articles on Quordle tips and answers if you need help with those too, while Marc’s Wordle page today covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: The information on NYT Connections today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NYT Connections today (game #863) – words of the day
Today’s NYT Connections words are…
- DEER
- DO
- BULLS
- DRONES
- QUEENS
- HORNETS
- ADDRESSES
- TVS
- GARAGE DOORS
- HANDLES
- KINGS
- JACKS
- SPURS
- A.S.
- ATTACKS
- WIIS
NYT Connections today (game #863) – clue #1 – group clues
What are the clues for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Pack leaders
- GREEN: Get involved
- BLUE: Basketball sides
- 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 themed answers are for today’s NYT Connections riddles…
NYT Connections today (game #863) – clue #2 – group answers
What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: PLAYING CARDS
- GREEN: TAKES
- BLUE: NBA TEAMS
- PURPLE: THINGS YOU CAN CONTROL WITH REMOTES
That’s right, the answers are below, so DON’T SCROLL FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #863) – the answers
The answers to today’s Connections game #863 are…
- YELLOW: PLAYING CARDS AS, JACKS, KINGS, QUEENS
- GREEN: TAKES ADDRESSES, FACTS, HANDLES, ATTACKS
- BLUE: NBA TEAMS BUCKS, BULLS, HORNETS, SPURS
- PURPLE: THINGS YOU CAN CONTROL WITH REMOTES DRONES, GARAGE DOORS, TVS, WIIS
- My rating: Hard
- My rating: 3 errors
I gave my first group a pig’s ear, making multiple 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 ACES, which is a WNBA team rather than an NBA team.
I finally got there, but it cost me three mistakes when there were much easier groups I could have focused on – PLAYING CARDS, for example, would have saved me a lot of time eliminating Aces and Kings.
It’s all designed to deceive us, I know, and I’m sure we should all be wary of these exploits, but I can’t help but fall into these traps sometimes.
Answers from yesterday’s NYT Connections (Monday October 20, Thu #862)
- YELLOW: AFFLICTION BUGBEAR, COMPLEX, DEMON, HANG UP
- GREEN: REPRESENTED BY CONSTELLATIONS BIG BEAR, CENTAUR, HUNTER, LYRE
- BLUE: SYMBOLS OF THE PERIODIC TABLE LIKE, BE, I, K
- PURPLE: ____CORN 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 difficulty level: green is easy, yellow is a little more difficult, blue is often quite difficult, and purple is usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you technically don’t need to solve the final question, as you will be able to answer it through a process of elimination. Additionally, you can make up to four mistakes, giving you some breathing room.
However, it’s a bit more complex than something like Wordle, and the game provides plenty of opportunities to trip you up with tricks. For example, watch out for homophones and other puns that could obscure the answers.
It is playable for free via the NYT Games website on computer or mobile.
