If you’re seeking guidance on the latest New York Times Games puzzles, look no more—hints and solutions are just below for both the Strands game and Connections. With players increasingly turning to these word challenges, we’ve compiled tips to navigate them effectively and tackle today’s puzzles with confidence.
Let’s start with the Strands game for December 14, 2024, which features the spirited theme of “Nothing can stop me!” This captivating puzzle emphasizes determination and motivation. Before we get to the solutions, it’s beneficial to know how to best approach Strands.
How to Play Strands? The Strands game is conveniently accessible via the New York Times website and the NYT Games app. Each session starts with your game board, which is filled with letters and accompanied by clues hinting at the theme—a phrase like "Better with age.” Your objective is to identify the hidden words within the jumble, reflecting the puzzle’s theme. Among the most significant words to find is the “spangram,” which directly indicates the overall theme. For example, if the theme is "Better with age," the spangram would be “FERMENTED.”
Upon identifying the spangram—highlighted in yellow—you’ll be able to complete the rest of the puzzle more easily. Words in Strands can move vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, with only one correct solution. If you stumble upon non-theme words—like KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI—you may gain hints to aid your search. Using hints effectively can shift letters of theme words, aiding you with word arrangement.
Now, let’s get to the hints for today’s Strands:
- Spangram Hint: A word for someone who doesn’t let anything stop them in pursuit of their goals.
- Theme Words Hint: Qualities characteristic of goal- and action-oriented individuals.
For those who want to skip to the main event, the spangram for today’s puzzle is GOGETTER. The associated theme words today are DRIVE, FIRE, DEVOTION, INTENSITY, PASSION, PURPOSE. This board array reflects not only determination but also various aspects of motivation. When the puzzle is solved, it’s satisfying to see the mixed colors indicating how well you did, with blue dots (🔵) marking the theme words discovered, and yellow dot (🟡) indicating the spangram’s triumph.
Next up, let’s explore Connections. This popular NYT game challenges players to find the ‘common threads between words’. Launched recently, it has quickly captured the audience’s attention, spurring social media discussions. With aid from associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu, Connections has become the latest addition to the NYT Games section.
How Does Connections Work? Each day, when the clock strikes midnight, the game resets, thereby introducing players to new sets of words. Each puzzle consists of 16 words, which need to be categorized correctly. Players group four words sharing similar traits—be it book titles, geographical locations, or more obscure themes. The challenge is identifying the correct relationships among the words since only one grouping is accurate.
If players select incorrectly, they risk mistakes, which can accumulate to three wrong guesses before the game concludes. To facilitate spotting the connections, players are free to shuffle the board, which can often spark new insights. Color coding offers assistance, with categories color-coded from yellow, which is easier, to purple as the most challenging choice.
Feeling perplexed? Here’s today’s hints for Connections:
- Yellow: Aquatic creatures
- Green: Traditional auction phrasing
- Blue: Money used around the world
- Purple: Precedes "cup"
For those eager for the answers, the Connections categories today are:
- Fish: FLUKE, MULLET, SOLE, TANG
- Words in Auction-Ending Phrase: GOING, ONCE, SOLD, TWICE
- Global Currencies: POUND, REAL, SOL, YUAN
- Words Before "Cup": BUTTER, DIVA, SOLO, WORLD
Though it may seem tricky at times, perseverance yields results. Should you miss it today, fret not, as there are fresh challenges awaiting every day to engage your puzzle-solving skills.
The Strands and Connections games aren’t just time-fillers; they engage your brain and keep your vocabulary sharp. By regularly playing, you become more adept at spotting familiar word patterns, and with time, you might even see improvement. So whether you're breezing through the days’ puzzles or occasionally seeking hints, there's always excitement to discover more words along the way!
