Like a lot of people, I love brain teasers. I’m up for any excuse to use my brain and play a game that will sharpen my mind. So naturally, I’m a big fan of The New York Times‘ (NYT) daily games. These include Wordle (perhaps the most popular of the NYT games that skyrocketed in popularity in early 2022), Mini Crossword, Spelling Bee, and Tiles. However, my favorite game is Connections, a sentiment that a lot of the world seems to share as well.
Connections seems simple enough. It starts with 16 words organized into four-by-four rows, and the goal is to organize the words into four groups of four. The four categories range in color from yellow (the easiest or most simple to solve) to purple (objectively the hardest four words to get right) with green and blue categories respectively in the middle.
Easy right? Well, you might think so. But often, the words are so bizarre and tricky that you can’t imagine how they could possibly fit together in a category. Sometimes the words have multiple categories that they could potentially fit in so they seemingly overlap, which can make it difficult. Sometimes you end up bending over backward, tearing out your hair, and screaming and crying on the floor trying to figure out how to make these categories work. It can be exhausting, frustrating, and a real confidence bust.
But it’s all in great fun!
It’s so interesting to investigate why everybody has flocked to this game and caused it to spike in popularity. What is it about this game that has so many people taking time out of their busy schedules to play it?
Brain teasers have been known to exercise your cognitive skills and test your brain power. They build critical thinking skills, improve memory, and ultimately create a kind of dopamine rush that is hard to ignore. The sense of success at completing one of these games gives people such a rush of satisfaction that they can’t help but continue to seek it out.
But why Connections? Why are people so obsessed with this particular puzzle, and how does the game give people the level of satisfaction that they crave? Brain teasers like the Connections puzzle enhance your mood and make it easier to unwind every time you solve a puzzle. The kind of challenge they provide makes it so much sweeter when you win.
According to NYT, the Connections puzzle is so addictive that nine out of 10 people who start the game daily finish it either by running out of chances or solving it correctly. The combination of a unique puzzle challenge and thoughtful and relevant words spark a light in people who love to solve creative challenges. It’s refreshing, imaginative, and a fun way to test your brain daily.
Do you have what it takes to solve the Connections? Check out today’s puzzle! New puzzles drop each day at midnight. Have fun playing!
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