‘Connections’ January 28: Hints and Answers for Puzzle #597

Today’s Connections game is tough, which is why Newsweek is here to help you out.

The brainteaser was launched by The New York Times in 2023 and has gone on to become the publication’s second-most popular word game. Currently in that top spot is Wordle, another word-based puzzle.

Keep reading for Newsweek‘s top tips for today’s game but be warned: The answer for #597 will be revealed at the bottom of the page, so if you’d like to work it out for yourself, we suggest you scroll with caution.

How to Play Connections

To start, players are given a table of 16 words they must split into four groups of four based on common characteristics and put into categories. These categories are color-coded: yellow, green, blue and purple—with yellow being the easiest and purple being the most difficult.

For example, in Monday’s puzzle, the words “axe,” “hedge maze,” “twins” and “typewriter” were associated with the category, “Seen in The Shining.” This was a purple category.

When you’ve decided which words you’d like to enter, you’ll click the “Submit” button. If your choices are correct, they’ll flash in the category color and will be deleted from the board. If they are incorrect, however, they will remain on the board.

Are you finding yourself struggling with the layout? Try clicking the “Shuffle” button—this may just give your brain the boost it needs.

In June, Connections developer and Times crossword editor Wyna Liu shared her best advice with Newsweek readers.

“Wait as long as you can before guessing,” she said at the time. “You may see the board and have completely identified the category, seeing five words that could belong in that category.”

While there’s no time limit to the game, players only get four guesses before the answers are revealed, so be sure to choose carefully.

Connections #597 Hints and Clues for Tuesday, January 28

Below are Newsweek‘s handy hints to help you with Tuesday’s game:

Yellow: Terms to describe a comedian

Green: Things you’d find at the gym

Blue: Popular brands of sweet treats, but they’re missing a letter

Purple: Words that come after “Speed”

‘Connections’ #597 Answers for Tuesday, January 28

Yellow Category: FUNNY PERSON

Yellow Words: Card, Character, Joker, Laugh

Green Category: RESISTANCE TRAINING EQUIPMENT

Green Words: Band, Bench, Dumbbell, Mat

Blue Category: CANDY BARS MINUS “S”

Blue Words: Airhead, Mar, Mound, Snicker

Purple Category: SPEED ___

Purple Words: Bump, Chess, Demon, Dial

Congrats if you solved today’s game correctly, but don’t sweat it if you didn’t. You’ll get another chance on Wednesday when a new game will be available for you to try.

Connections is released at midnight in your local time zone, so be sure to check back with Newsweek for more hints and answers.

Looking for another challenge? Try giving one of these popular brainteasers a go.