New York Times Connections Game November 23 Puzzle: Hints, Answers & Tips

Out of the many daily puzzles available online, the New York Times’ Connections game is one of the trickiest.

The New York Times’ Connections game challenges players to group 16 words into four common themes. While some categories are straightforward, others can be quite abstract and require creative thinking. This article provides detailed hints and answers for the Connections puzzle from November 23, along with insights into the game’s mechanics and additional editions like the Sports Edition.

• The goal in Connections is to identify four groups of four words linked by a common theme, with some categories being misleading or abstract.
• November 23’s puzzle included groups such as lenient words, animal homes, Oliver Stone movies, and second words in ABBA song titles.
• A color-coded system rates difficulty, from yellow (easiest) to purple (most challenging).
• Connections: Sports Edition, a variant highlighting sports knowledge, features themes like Chicago teams and combat sports weight classes.
• The game allows players to shuffle words for better pattern recognition and tracks performance statistics for registered users.

Introduction to the New York Times’ Connections Game

Launched in June 2023, the Connections game has quickly gained notoriety for its unique blend of word association and theme recognition. Each puzzle presents 16 words, which players must correctly group into four thematic clusters, with no more than four mistakes allowed before the game ends. The game is accessible via web browsers and mobile devices, offering a daily mental challenge for casual and avid puzzle solvers alike.

While some sets are intuitive—such as grouping four types of fish—others demand lateral thinking. For example, words that appear to be linked by biology may instead be connected through an abstract concept like “Nexus.” Players are encouraged to think beyond literal meanings and consider subtle or cultural references to succeed.

November 23 Connections Puzzle: Words, Hints, and Answers

Words in Play

The puzzle for November 23 featured the following 16 words: JFK, QUEEN, WARREN, WALL STREET, LAX, LODGE, EASY, MIA, DEN, TROUPER, NIXON, LOOSE, GIMME, SLACK, PLATOON, BURROW.

Provided Hints by Color Category

• Yellow: sparing (interpreted as lenient)
• Green: where animals live (animal homes)
• Blue: movies by the same director (Oliver Stone movies)
• Purple: the second part of ABBA song titles

Group Solutions

• Yellow (Lenient): easy, lax, loose, slack
• Green (Animal Homes): burrow, den, lodge, warren
• Blue (Oliver Stone Movies): jfk, nixon, platoon, wall street
• Purple (Second Words in ABBA Hit Titles): gimme, mia, queen, trouper

These groupings illustrate the game’s range—from simple synonyms to cultural references requiring music knowledge.

Tips for Playing Connections Effectively

Players new to Connections should keep in mind that meanings may not always be literal. For instance, earlier puzzles misled players by grouping words like “Heart” and “Nucleus,” which at first glance seem biologically connected but were part of a theme around the word “Nexus.” Recognizing such nuances and patterns will improve success rates.

The game’s design includes intelligent features such as the ability to reshuffle words to spot connections easier, and color coding to indicate group difficulty (yellow easiest, then green, blue, and purple hardest). For registered users on the New York Times Games platform, a Connections Bot offers numeric scoring and detailed analysis of individual performance, including streaks and perfect score achievements.

Additional Connections Puzzles: October 20 Example

Another featured puzzle from October 20 further exemplifies the game’s variety and challenge level. The categories for that day were affliction (yellow), constellations (green), periodic table symbols (blue), and “_____corn” words (purple).

For instance:

• Yellow group (Affliction): bugbear, complex, demon, hang-up
• Green group (Constellations): big bear, centaur, hunter, lyre
• Blue group (Periodic Table Symbols): as, be, i, k
• Purple group (____corn): a, capri, pop, uni (forming acorn, capricorn, popcorn, unicorn)

This puzzle’s use of word fragments and abstract linkages demonstrates the necessity to look beyond straightforward categories.

Connections: Sports Edition

The New York Times further developed a Sports Edition of Connections in partnership with The Athletic. This variant tests sports knowledge, maintaining the core gameplay of grouping words by common themes.

For example, in a recent Sports Edition puzzle with 16 words, the categories included:

• Yellow: Chicago Teams (bears, bulls, cubs, sky)
• Green: Combat Sports Divisions with "Weight" (bantam, feather, fly, heavy)
• Blue: American Conference Teams (blazers, chanticleers, green wave, pirates)
• Purple: Types of Rooms (dressing, film, green, locker)

The Sports Edition is similarly updated daily, resetting at midnight, with varying difficulty and thematic breadth, encouraging players to exercise different kinds of domain knowledge.

Features and Community Engagement

Registered players gain access to an analytical bot that assesses puzzle performance and offers a numeric score, helping participants track their progress. Sharing results on social media fosters a communal challenge-and-support environment reminiscent of the popularity of Wordle.

Additionally, The New York Times Games section provides a hub for various daily puzzles including Wordle, Mini Crossword, and others such as Strands and Framed, broadening the ecosystem of engaging word games.

Conclusion

The New York Times’ Connections game stands out for its combination of clever wordplay, cultural references, and steadily increasing challenge. With daily puzzles like those on November 23 and October 20, players enjoy a dynamic and stimulating experience that demands lateral thinking. Variants like the Sports Edition cater to diverse interests, expanding the game’s appeal.

For those struggling with tricky connections, utilizing hints, understanding the color-coded difficulty system, and exploring the nuanced connections between words are key strategies. As the game evolves, features like the Connections Bot add depth to the player experience, making Connections a noteworthy addition to the growing world of daily online word puzzles.