‘Connections’ January 16: Hints and Answers for Puzzle #585

Connections can feel incredibly satisfy to solve because sometimes the categories can be very broad.

In the daily game published by The New York Times, players must find a common link between words—but, as with all puzzles, the obvious answers might not always be correct.

The game is edited by Wyna Liu, who shared some tips on how to ensure success every time you play.

“My top advice is to hold off on guessing as long as you can,” Liu previously told Newsweek.

How to Play ‘Connections’

The categories vary in difficulty from yellow to green to blue to purple, with yellow considered the easiest category and purple the trickiest.

For example, a recent game linked the words “Breaking,” “Surfing,” “Taekwondo” and “Trampoline” under the category: “Olympic events since 2000.” This was a blue category.

Once you have selected four words, you click the “submit” button. If your choices match a category, they will appear in the category color and disappear from the grid. If they are incorrect, however, they will remain gray and stay on the board.

If you are stuck, try selecting the “shuffle” button to move the words to a different place on the grid.

Players have up to four chances to guess incorrectly before the game ends. There’s no time constraint so no need to rush things, as Liu advises.

Here are some hints to help you figure out today’s Connections categories, but scroll down with caution as the answers are below them.