The New York Times daily Connections puzzle challenges players to group sixteen words into four categories of four. Today’s puzzle (#906) proved to be a moderate test of pattern recognition, with a purple category leaning into 1970s music trivia.
Puzzle Breakdown and Solutions
The puzzle categories were distributed as follows:
- Yellow: Words relating to types of jewelry. The correct grouping was bangle, chain, charm, and ring.
- Green: Terms for social gatherings. The answers were event, function, party, and reception.
- Blue: Verbs associated with making a formal request. The solution set included appeal, campaign, lobby, and press.
- Purple: The most challenging category, featuring songs with “Man” in the title from the 1970s: Iron (Black Sabbath), Macho (Village People), Piano (Billy Joel), and Rocket (Elton John).
NYT Games Updates and Player Tracking
The Times recently introduced a Connections Bot, similar to its Wordle bot, allowing players to receive a performance score after completing the puzzle. Registered users can now track their stats, including completion rate, perfect scores, and win streaks. This feature adds a competitive layer to the game for those interested in quantifying their performance.
Recurring Difficulties and Patterns
Analysis of previous difficult puzzles (#1–5) suggests that the game frequently uses ambiguous words with multiple meanings or relies on obscure cultural references. For example:
- Puzzle #1: Grouped seemingly unrelated items (“things that can run”) like candidate, faucet, mascara, and nose.
- Puzzle #5: Combined items that can be “set,” such as mood, record, table, and volleyball.
These puzzles often require lateral thinking and a willingness to explore non-obvious connections.
Conclusion
Today’s Connections puzzle offered a balanced challenge. The purple category, referencing 1970s music, tested players’ cultural knowledge. The Times continues to refine the puzzle’s difficulty and provides additional tools for players to analyze their performance.
