NYT Connections Puzzle #820: How Today’s Challenge Tests Players’ Word Association Skills

The Growing Popularity of NYT Connections

Connections, created by New York Times editor Wyna Liu, is a daily word puzzle browser game where players must identify connections between four groups of four words, presented as a random grid of sixteen.

Following the success of Wordle, The New York Times launched Connections to expand its puzzle offerings. The game features colour-coded categories based on difficulty levels, with yellow being the easiest and purple presenting the greatest challenge.

Today’s Challenge (#820)

Today’s puzzle (#820) presents a moderately challenging experience, with the Connections Companion rating its difficulty at 3.5 out of 5.

The September 8 puzzle features four distinct categories:
– Yellow category: words relating to nonsense
– Green category: terms associated with increase, using “UP”
– Blue category: fictional spies
– Purple category: words beginning with “cat”

Game Mechanics and Strategy

Players should note that the game often employs ambiguous words to create challenging puzzles. When players receive a “One Away” notification, it means they’ve correctly grouped three out of four words, but one selection doesn’t belong.

Accessibility and Daily Updates

The NYT Connections puzzle refreshes at midnight local time, with crossword constructor Wyna Liu, who has been editing puzzles at The Times since 2020, overseeing the game. For those who miss a day’s puzzle, previous games are easily accessible through the Connections archives, where players can select any date they wish to replay.