IT General

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for January 12 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Make-believe

• Green: Win over

• Blue: Arcade fun

• Purple: Obvious in hind sight

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Fabrication

• Green: Woo

• Blue: Classic Atari games

• Purple: Things featuring tails

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #581 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Fabrication: FAIRY TALE, FANTASY, FICTION, INVENTION

• Woo: CHARM, COURT, PURSUE, ROMANCE

• Classic Atari games: ASTEROIDS, BREAKOUT, CENTIPEDE, DEFENDER

• Things featuring tails: COIN TOSS, COMETS, DRESS COAT, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for January 12

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Connections.

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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.

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Fact checkers are out

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He defended his decision on Rogan's podcast saying he employed fact checkers who "were too biased" and claimed his own company's fact checking process was "something out of 1984." It's a remarkable comparison to a book written by a democratic socialist and member of the anti-Stalinist Left. Makes you think — has Zuckerberg read the book?

Hate speech is in

Meta decided to lift prohibitions against some hate speech on its platforms. Within these new guidelines, Meta platforms will allow users to post content that calls women property, refers to specific ethnic groups as "filth," and claims that gay and trans people are "mentally ill," despite the APA declaring 52 years ago that homosexuality is not a mental illness, for instance. Users can liken protected characteristics including "race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, and serious disease" to inanimate objects, property, and diseases. The platform also won't take action against posts that argue in favor of gender and sexual orientation-based discrimination.

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"We do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like 'weird,'" Meta wrote. A spokesperson told CNN in a statement that Meta will still prohibit some slurs and attacks and will enforce its remaining bullying, harassment, and violence policies.

DEI initiatives are out

For some reason, Zuckerberg decided to get end its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, according an internal memo obtained by Axios on Friday. Janelle Gale, Meta's vice president of human resources, wrote the memo and said Meta would still assemble "cognitively diverse teams, with differences in knowledge, skills, political views, backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences" but it will no longer offer equity and inclusion training. As the New York Times reported, the company "eliminated its chief diversity officer role, ended its diversity hiring goals that called for the employment of a certain number of women and minorities, and said it would no longer prioritize minority-owned businesses when hiring vendors."

SEE ALSO: DEI programs at Meta are done, company says

"The legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing. The Supreme Court of the United States has recently made decisions signaling a shift in how courts will approach DEI," the memo reads, according to Axios. "It reaffirms longstanding principles that discrimination should not be tolerated or promoted on the basis of inherent characteristics. The term 'DEI' has also become charged, in part because it is understood by some as a practice that suggests preferential treatment of some groups over others."

Tampons are out

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"Probably only ever used by a handful of employees, but work for the facilities team to have to remove," she wrote. "Like, it took physical labor and coordination across 3 offices to do this."

Trans and nonbinary Messenger themes are out

Speaking of virtue signaling, Meta also deleted trans and nonbinary themes on its Messenger app this week, 404 Media first reported. These themes are a fun way to decorate your chats — a "love" them turns it pink, for instance. The trans and nonbinary themes turned the colors of the chats to match the trans or nonbinary pride flags. It's difficult to conjure up a reason these might have been disabled beyond an attempt to match its other new anti-LGBTQ policies.

Political speech on Instagram and Threads is in

Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram and Threads, announced on Thursday that the platforms will be recommending political content to users once again. You can adjust your political content control to less, standard, and more, but the default will be standard. While some users are glad to have politics back on the platform, they are concerned about the timing with the removal of fact-checkers. It is a stark reversal from its March 2024 approach to distancing itself from political content.

SEE ALSO: Instagram and Threads will now recommend political content

"Our intention is to introduce political recommendations in a responsible and personalized way, which means more for people who want this content and less for those who do not," Mosseri posted on Threads about the decision. "Our plan is to continue to listen to feedback, learn, and iterate over the next few months."

Dana White is in

On Monday, Meta announced that Dana White, the famous Trump ally and president and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, would join its board of directors — yet another move that the Washington Post noted "could be seen as Zuckerberg's latest maneuver to improve ties with Trump." White was added alongside John Elkann, the billionaire CEO of the investment company Exor and Executive Chair of Ferrari and Stellantis, and Charlie Songhurst, a tech investor. The announcement comes a week after Nick Clegg, the former Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the UK, announced he would leave his post as Meta's policy chief.

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