The New York Times' daily word puzzle, Connections, has once again captivated and challenged players on June 28, 2025, with its latest edition, Puzzle #748. This brain-teasing game requires participants to group sixteen seemingly unrelated words into four distinct categories, testing their vocabulary, lateral thinking, and cultural knowledge.
Connections has quickly become one of the most popular word games in the NYT Games suite, rivaling even the iconic crossword and Wordle. Created with the help of associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu, the game tasks players with finding “common threads between words.” Each day, a fresh set of sixteen words appears, which players must sort into four groups of four words each. The catch? Only one correct grouping exists, and players have just four chances to make mistakes before the game ends.
On June 28, the puzzle presented the following words: Boot, Ball, Score, Points, Singer, Host, Drove, Stick, Tow, Diesel, Load, Bell, Bone, Ticket, Watt, and Frisbee. At first glance, the assortment seems eclectic — ranging from everyday objects to historical figures — but the challenge lies in uncovering the subtle connections that bind these words.
Hints for the puzzle teased players with clues about each group’s theme, color-coded by difficulty. Yellow, the easiest group, was associated with “things a dog can fetch,” green with “great many,” blue with “possible results of a traffic violation,” and purple, the hardest, with “Industrial Revolution inventors.” These hints helped players narrow down their options and focus their thinking.
Indeed, the yellow group was the most straightforward for many. Words like Ball, Bone, Frisbee, and Stick are classic dog toys or objects dogs love to retrieve, making this category immediately recognizable. As one player noted, "'Ball' and 'frisbee' had me thinking of a 'toys' theme right away, but then I realized it was about things a dog can fetch." This group’s clarity provided a solid foothold in an otherwise challenging puzzle.
The green group, described as “great many,” included Drove, Host, Load, and Score. Each of these words can be used to describe a large quantity or multitude. For example, a “drove” refers to a large group of animals, a “host” can mean a great number of people or things, “load” implies a heavy or large amount, and “score” historically represents twenty items. This thematic grouping required players to think abstractly about the meanings of these words beyond their immediate contexts.
The blue group, themed around “possible results of a traffic violation,” was trickier. It consisted of Boot, Points, Ticket, and Tow — all penalties or consequences drivers might face for breaking traffic laws. While “Ticket” and “Tow” are commonly understood, “Boot” might have puzzled some players, especially those unfamiliar with the American term for a vehicle immobilizing device, known in the UK as a “clamp.” “Points” refers to the penalty points added to a driver’s license following infractions. This group demanded some knowledge of driving regulations and their repercussions.
The purple group was by far the most difficult, focusing on “Industrial Revolution inventors.” It included Bell, Diesel, Singer, and Watt — surnames of prominent figures who revolutionized technology and industry. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, Rudolf Diesel developed the diesel engine, Isaac Singer patented improvements to the sewing machine, and James Watt made key advancements to the steam engine. This category required historical awareness and recognition of these influential pioneers.
Many players found the purple group especially challenging. As one commentator admitted, “I only got this as the default final group and I was never going to otherwise. Watt, Diesel, and Bell did ring a bell, but I wasn’t sure if I got it correct.” The difficulty of this category highlighted the game’s clever design, balancing accessible themes with those demanding deeper knowledge.
Gameplay mechanics add layers of strategy and challenge. Players can shuffle the grid to help spot connections and receive feedback when they are close to a correct grouping. However, with only four mistakes allowed, guesswork is risky. The color-coded difficulty tiers — yellow (easiest), green (easy), blue (medium), and purple (hardest) — guide players but do not guarantee success.
Social media has embraced Connections, with players sharing their daily results and strategies. The game’s format encourages communal problem-solving and friendly competition, much like Wordle before it. The New York Times has successfully created a puzzle that is both intellectually stimulating and widely accessible.
For those who struggled with June 28’s puzzle, numerous online guides and articles provide hints and full solutions, helping players learn and improve. The game resets at midnight daily, offering a fresh challenge and the chance to keep a winning streak alive.
As the June 28 puzzle demonstrated, Connections is more than just a word game; it is a test of knowledge, reasoning, and cultural literacy. Whether you breeze through the dog toys or wrestle with the industrial inventors, the satisfaction of uncovering each group’s hidden link is rewarding.
So, did you manage to fetch all the right words, score your points, avoid the boot, and honor the inventors? If not, don’t fret — tomorrow brings a brand-new puzzle, and with it, fresh opportunities to connect the dots.
