Connections may not be as popular as Wordle, but since it launched in 2023, it's quickly become a must-play for many devotees of the New York Times' games pages.
As with all games, some Connections are trickier than others — which is one reason why we post Connections hints and answers for every day. But which were the most difficult Connections of 2024?
To find out, I looked through the New York Times Connection Companion archives, which lists answers for each puzzle, and assigns a difficulty rating out of 5, based on how hard it was for a panel of testers. Unlike Wordle, the Times doesn't provide statistics on how every solver fared.
Here are the 10 hardest NYT Connections of 2024. Well, 11, considering that there was one extra with a rating of 4.
Connections 224 - January 21
Difficulty score: 4
This one was particularly tricky since there are a lot of connections between two or three words that could do multiple ways — and some that didn't seem to connect with any others. For example, while you might get that a candle, crayon, and honeycomb are made out of wax, "seal" as the fourth isn't so obvious.
Connections 283 - March 20
Difficulty score: 4
This Connections has a lot of long words, but it helps if you're up on your Italian cities and camera companies. However, the other two categories have words that intertwine — Jumbotron, Astroturf, Scoreboard, Skybox, and Kisscam could all be things seen at a stadium.
Connections 304 - April 10
Difficulty score: 4
You have to be a real nut to get one set of clues here. The toughest category — second words in Quentin Tarantino movies — is definitely trickier, but should be easy to sort if you get at least two of the other categories.
Connections 314 - April 20
Difficulty score: 4
A knowledge of knots was handy for solving this one, as are esoteric terms for nonsense. If you were up on your Olympic track and field events, that would also help for the second-hardest grouping for this puzzle.
Connections 351 - May 27
Difficulty score: 4
Since "Speak" is closely aligned with "Say" and "Voice," this puzzle gave the Times' Connections crew some fits in solving. And while Steam, Tire, and Waffle irons are all nouns, "Pump Iron" is describing an action.
Connections #458 - September 11
Difficulty score: 4
It might have been the "Jurassic Park" category that tripped up solvers. The most difficult category was "Things that are purple," and unless you're a McDonald's or New York Mets fan, you might not get where Grimace fits right away.
NYT Connections today hints and answers — Wednesday, September 11 (#458)
Connections 246 - February 12
Difficulty score: 4.1
While you might suss that Genie, Parrot, Monkey, and Princess are all characters in "Aladdin," others are not so obvious, which is what made this Connections so tricky.
Connections 475 - September 28
Difficulty score: 4.2
Now we're into the top five most difficult Connections of the year. It helps to know your Monopoly items here. Personally, the "_____ Control" wasn't too hard, as there aren't any other clues that could easily fit them.
Connections 392 - July 7
Difficulty score: 4.2
If you're a fan of Mariah Carey, then you'll figure out the hardest category here — Fantasy, Hero, Honey, and Someday — and it also helps to know the various states of matter, and how they change from one to another.
Connections 311 - April 17
Difficulty score: 4.2
Column, Post, Pillar, Pole, and Stake could all be grouped together, which made this one of the most difficult Connections of the year. "Follow," "Mind," "Observe," and "Regard" are in the Heed, as Rules group, while "Dirt," "Information," "Intelligence," and "Secrets" are all part of the Gathered by Spies grouping.
Connections 476 - September 29
Difficulty score: 4.5
Here's the most difficult Connections of the year, according to the New York Times' group of solvers. Admittedly, I got this one with no mistakes. It helps to know the various U.S. Cabinet departments — Energy, Justice, Labor, and State — which was considered the trickiest category for this puzzle.
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