‘Connections’ January 7: Answers and Hints for Puzzle #576

To help keep your Connections winning streak alive, Newsweek has gathered some hints to guide you through Tuesday’s puzzle without giving too much away.

After its debut in The New York Times in June 2023, Connections quickly built a large following. The word-based game challenges players to group words based on subtle links, combining logic with language skills. Today it ranks as the publication’s second-most popular game, just after Wordle.

If you’re not familiar with Connections, this article will guide you through the basics of playing the game, share tips for sharpening your puzzle-solving abilities and provide hints for today’s challenge.

How to Play ‘Connections’

Connections tasks players with grouping 16 words into four categories based on association.

Each group is coded by color to indicate difficulty: yellow for the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple for more challenging sets. The puzzles often incorporate homophones, wordplay, and other clever twists, ensuring they’re rarely straightforward. Players can use the shuffle button to mix up the words on the screen if they get stuck.

Once you’ve decided on your four words, click the “Submit” button. If your submission is correct, the terms will flash in the category color and will be removed from the board. If they are incorrect, however, they will be gray in color and remain on the table.

There is no time limit for the game, so you’re free to spend your Tuesday mulling over the answers. That being said, players only get four guesses before the answers will be revealed.

Wyna Liu, a crossword editor at The New York Times who developed Connections, previously told Newsweek about her recommended tips for playing the game.

“My best piece of advice is to wait as long as you can before guessing,” she said. “You may see the board and have completely identified the category, seeing five words that could belong in that category. Don’t try to guess the four words in that category because even though you know what the fifth member is, you won’t know which of the four it might not be,” which would ultimately waste a turn.

“Don’t do what I do, which is ‘rage solve,'” she added.