A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, October 20 (game #1227).
Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.
What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Connections today (game #1228) - today's words
Today's NYT Connections words are…
- ENGLISH HORN
- LEAPFROG
- ALPHA DOG
- SWEETBREAD
- HOT POTATO
- MANTIS SHRIMP
- SUNFLOWERS
- BIG CHEESE
- AMERICAN
- GOTHIC
- GRAPE-NUTS
- CAMPBELL'S
- SOUP CAN
- DUCK DUCK
- GOOSE
- TOP BANANA
- THE SCREAM
- MUSICAL CHAIRS
- HEAVYWEIGHT
NYT Connections today (game #1228) - hint #1 - group hints
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Playground contests
- GREEN: Main character energy
- BLUE: Iconic artworks
- PURPLE: Very misleading names
Need more clues?
We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…
NYT Connections today (game #1228) - hint #2 - group answers
What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: CLASSIC CHILDREN'S GAMES
- GREEN: IMPORTANT PERSON
- BLUE: FAMOUS PAINTINGS
- PURPLE: DOUBLE MISNOMERS (NEITHER WORD IS AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION)
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #1228) - the answers
The answers to today's Connections, game #1228, are…
- YELLOW: CLASSIC CHILDREN'S GAMES: DUCK DUCK GOOSE, HOT POTATO, LEAPFROG, MUSICAL CHAIRS
- GREEN: IMPORTANT PERSON: ALPHA DOG, BIG CHEESE, HEAVYWEIGHT, TOP BANANA
- BLUE: FAMOUS PAINTINGS: AMERICAN GOTHIC, CAMPBELL'S SOUP CAN, SUNFLOWERS, THE SCREAM
- PURPLE: DOUBLE MISNOMERS (NEITHER WORD IS AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION): ENGLISH HORN, GRAPE-NUTS, MANTIS SHRIMP, SWEETBREAD
- My rating: Easy
- My score: Perfect
It’s been a while since I’ve completed a game in yellow-green-blue-purple difficulty order, something I never do deliberately but which I always find oddly satisfying when it happens.
Yesterday’s Strands featured DUCK DUCK GOOSE, so I was immediately drawn to begin with that and the other CLASSIC CHILDREN’S GAMES — my favorite when I was a mischievous eight-year-old was a game called Knock Down Ginger which involved ringing people’s doorbells and running away. A bit mean, in hindsight, and now something that Ring Doorbells have possibly seen the end of.
DOUBLE MISNOMERS (NEITHER WORD IS AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION) is an excellent group, but my ignorance of three of the four tiles prevented me from making the connection; the only one I was familiar with was GRAPE NUTS, a cereal whose absence of grapes and nuts has always puzzled me.
Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, October 20, 2026, game #1227)
- YELLOW: FINISH: CLOSE, END, STOP, WRAP
- GREEN: LACKEY: MINION, POODLE, PUPPET, STOOGE
- BLUE: MUSTACHES: CHEVRON, HORSESHOE, PENCIL, WALRUS
- PURPLE: HOMOPHONES OF DISNEY CHARACTERS: ARIAL, BELL, DOCK, MINI
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.
It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.