Connections Game

https://www.nytimes.com/games/connections

I enjoy games.

Especially word games.

My roommate introduced me to Wordle.

And then he got me into Connections.

The premise of Connections is simple.

Take the 16 words, and form them into groups of four. 

The words in each group will be connected in some way.

That's where the simplicity ends.

Figuring out how the words are connected is sometimes easy and sometimes maddening. To add to the frustration, sometimes a word will fit in more than category. But there can only be four words per category. 

Sometimes you have to know about music. Movies. Old slang. New slang. Parts of something. Examples of something. The possible connections are many. Some are very obscure.

Each group is assigned a color. Purple is usually the most difficult,  followed by blue, then green, then yellow. I sometimes call purple the "WTF" category.  Sometimes I only get it by process of elimination.

I'm getting better at the game. I'm learning to be more patient, to work it out on paper, and not to make hasty guesses. You only get three tries to make the connections.

I find it fascinating, because I used to hate being frustrated. If something was too difficult,  I would give up. Now I enjoy the process. Sometimes with this game, you have to stare at it, walk away, then come back to it. When you finally get it, when the light bulb comes on and you make sense of a bunch of words that seem to have no connection - it is a delicious feeling. 

I'll give you an example from a previous game. Take the word "booty." It can be slang for your butt. But it can also be slang for some kind of wealth. In that game, there were already four words that meant butt: buns, bottom, tail, and seat. So booty went with loot, swag, and spoils.

There's only one Connections game per day. Give it a try! It can take awhile to get the hang of it. Don't give up! Challenge yourself! Your brain will thank you.

librarianintx