‘Connections’ March 1: Hints and Answers for Puzzle #629

Happy March, puzzle enthusiasts!

The brainteaser challenges users to find common threads among a set of words, but it can often be an arduous task, so don’t worry if you are struggling with #629. Newsweek has helpful clues for you to crack the game.

Connections was released by The New York Times in 2023, and back in 2020, the newspaper’s puzzle editor—who now creates the daily Connections games—revealed how much time she spends building brainteasers.

“I usually spend at least a couple hours a day working on grids, and that’s when I’ll make adjustments to my word list,” Wyna Liu told the NYT. “I keep a separate list of entries on my phone that I want to build puzzles around, and I add to that whenever inspiration strikes.”

In a separate interview with Newsweek last year, Liu said that each Connections board “has to be made from scratch” and added that it takes “a long time to fudge things and try different angles.”

“I usually don’t know where a board is going to go,” Liu shared with readers.

How To Play ‘Connections’

Players must separate 16 words into four categories—yellow, green, blue and purple. These categories are color-coded for a reason: yellow is considered to be the easiest category to guess, while purple is the most difficult, and green and blue are of medium difficulty.

For instance, Friday’s puzzle linked the words “angel,” “dear,” “doll” and “peach” with the green category: “Lovely person.”

Yesterday’s blue category was “Lucidity,” and its words were: “marbles,” “mind,” “sense” and “wits.”

Fortunately, there is no time limit to the game, though players get only four tries before the answers will be revealed. If you are finding a puzzle particularly tricky, perhaps clicking the “Shuffle” button will give your brain the refresh it needs.

‘Connections’ #629 Hints and Clues for Saturday, March 1

Below are Newsweek‘s hints to help you with Saturday’s puzzle:

Yellow: Good-luck charms

Green: Starts with “To”

Blue: Words in Broadway musical titles

Purple: ____ “Cowboy”

‘Connections’ #629 Answers for Saturday, March 1

Yellow Category: ASSOCIATED WITH GOOD LUCK

Yellow Words: Horseshoe, Ladybug, Penny, Shamrock

Green Category: TO-BO- COMPOUND WORDS

Green Words: Tollbooth, Tomboy, Toolbox, Towboat

Blue Category: BROADWAY MUSICALS, FAMILIARLY

Blue Words: Fiddler, Merrily, Phantom, Sunset

Purple Category: WORDS BEFORE “COWBOY” IN FILM AND MUSIC

Purple Words: Drugstore, Midnight, Rhinestone, Space

Kudos to you if you solved today’s Connections, but don’t be hard on yourself if you didn’t. You’ll get another chance on Sunday 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 daily for more hints, clues and answers.

For now, these other popular word-based games, like Wordscapes and Lexigo, are sure to keep you entertained.