Connections is a game from the New York Times that challenges you to find the association between words. It sounds easy, but it isn’t—Connections categories can be almost anything, and they’re usually quite specific. If you need a hand getting the answers, we’ve got you covered.

What Is Connections?

Connections is a game from the New York Times. The objective is simple: sort 16 words into groups of 4. Each group of words will be connected by some common idea or theme. That common element could be anything. We have seen everything from games that rely on the number of letters in the words to categories that require you to spot an extra letter at the end of the word. Sometimes they’re references to economics, other times they reference fairy tales. There is no telling what sort of association there will be between words.

Once you’re confident you understand the connection, select 4 words, then hit “Submit.” You have only four attempts in total, so don’t be too guess-happy.

The unsorted words for August 10 Connections game

Hints for Today’s Connections Groups

Here are a few hints for the 425th Connections game to get you started:

Blonde, Jobs, MLK, Vice

How Did We Solve This Connections Game?

August 10th’s game wasn’t too bad, and even had a very topical category!

The first thing I noticed (purely by chance) was that devil, Mars, rose, and strawberry are all associated with the color red. I figured there was no harm in trying that as a group, and by happy chance, it worked—they were in the Yellow group, “Things That Are Red.”

The words for August 10 sorted into the correct groups

I shuffled once, then realized that Edge, Office, Teams, and Windows are all “Microsoft Products.” They were in the Blue group.

With 8 words left, function, operate, run, and work were all pretty evidently words used to describe something that is in working order. They were in the Green group, “Be in Commission.”

That left Blonde, Jobs, MLK, and Vice in the Purple group. After mulling it over, I realized the words in question are also the titles of “Biopics.”

How Do You Guess Connections Groups?

There is no quick, reliable way to approach Connections like there is with Wordle, since Connections isn’t algorithmic. However, there are a few things to keep in mind that can help.

If you didn’t solve this one, don’t feel too bad—there’s always tomorrow! And those words may align with a topic you’re interested in, giving you a leg up on the competition.