NYT Connections blends puzzle-solving with cultural literacy. Unlike single-word puzzles, it rewards associative thinking across subjects, sports, cinema, language, and encourages communal play as friends
NYT Connections, the New York Times' daily word-association game that has taken the internet by storm, served up puzzle #860 on Saturday, October 18, 2025. For players seeking an assist, here are today's Connections hints, full answers and practical tips to help finish the grid with confidence.
Launched after the runaway success of Wordle, Connections spreads 16 words across a 4x4 grid and asks players to sort them into four themed groups. Categories are colour-coded by difficulty: yellow (easiest), green, blue and purple (hardest). Success requires pattern recognition, vocabulary range and a dose of lateral thinking. The game is free to play on desktop and mobile through the New York Times games portal.
To assist solvers without spoiling the fun, here are the curated Connections hints, as per a report by Beebom, for October 18:
These short prompts are designed to nudge players toward the common themes linking each set of four words. If you prefer not to see the solutions, stop reading here and try grouping the words yourself.
For those ready to check their work, the official answers for today's puzzle are as follows:
Based on experience with daily grids, today's puzzle ranks as moderate to easy, roughly 2 or 3 out of 5. The sports and actor surname groups typically surface quickly for players, while the purple category's homophone twist may require a moment's reflection.
For newcomers and seasoned solvers alike, a few methodical strategies improve success rates:
The hints are: Yellow -- Drift; Green -- Sport names that end with "Ball"; Blue -- Surname of popular actors; Purple -- Homophones of "Vend" synonyms.
Today's puzzle was rated about 2-3 out of 5 in difficulty -- accessible for regular players but with a trickier purple group.