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Connections: Sports Edition is a new version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, 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 the latest 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 Sports Edition?

The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. 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.

Here's a hint for today's Connections Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: Guards and forwards

• Green: Mascots near San Francisco

• Blue: Cities with universities from the same conference

• Purple: Share the same first name

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

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

• Yellow: First words in basketball positions

• Green: Bay Area teams, in singular form

• Blue: SEC cities

• Purple: David _________

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 Sports Edition #181 is...

What is the answer to Connections Sports Edition today

• First words in basketball positions - POINT, POWER, SHOOTING, SMALL

• Bay Area teams, in singular form - GIANT, SHARK, VALKYRIE, WARRIOR

• SEC cities - AUBURN, AUSTIN, NORMAN, TUSCALOOSA

• David ________ - BECKHAM, MONTGOMERY, ORTIZ, ROBINSON

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.

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.

If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Hurdle: Everything you need to know to find the answers Hurdle Word 1 hint

More mature.

SEE ALSO: Apple’s new M3 MacBook Air is $300 off at Amazon. And yes, I’m tempted. Hurdle Word 1 answer

RIPER

Hurdle Word 2 hint

To uplift.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for March 23, 2025 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

BOOST

Hurdle Word 3 hint

A gathering place for a meal.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for March 23 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for March 23, 2025 Hurdle Word 3 answer

TABLE

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Killed.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for March 23 Hurdle Word 4 answer

SLAIN

Final Hurdle hint

An unpleasant sound made while asleep.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Games available on Mashable Hurdle Word 5 answer

SNORE

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

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.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

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.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

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 March 23 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: To fascinate someone

• Green: Things with extensions

• Blue: Adjectives to describe a timepiece

• Purple: Words in a popular children's handgame

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: Captivate

• Green: Things with wings

• Blue: Words that modify "watch"

• Purple: Words repeated in "Miss Mary Mack"

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 #648 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Captivate: ABSORB, ENTRANCE, GRAB, RIVET

• Things with wings: AIRPLANE, FAIRY, FLY, HOSPITAL

• Words that modify "watch": POCKET, SMART, STOP, WRIST

• Words repeated in "Miss Mary Mack": BACK, BLACK, BUTTONS, MACK

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 March 23

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.

You might want to become familiar with the Taco Bell mobile app.

That's because parent company Yum! Brands are rolling out an AI chatbot that you'll use to order at the drive-thru at 500 Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC locations in the second quarter of 2025, according to a company press release. The tech, which was developed in partnership with Nvidia, allegedly "enables a more natural, seamless ordering experience" through the use of a conversational chatbot that "adapts to human speech patterns," among other things.

SEE ALSO: TikTok removes AI 'chubby' filter after body-shaming criticism

At first glance, it's unclear how this is different from the AI drive-thru ordering that has been available at some Taco Bell locations since last year. Regardless, it's clear that chain restaurants are moving in this direction, at least for the time being.

Wendy's recently committed to a similar initiative, while McDonald's experimented with it (poorly) last year. It's true that human employees can and often do misinterpret orders, especially through the crackly speakers of a drive-thru, but it's very easy to imagine AI messing up orders in new and surprising ways that humans could never dream of.

However, you can order ahead in the mobile app and not have to deal with this at all, if you want to.

One of 2025's biggest video game surprises might be getting the film treatment.

Variety reported that the media company Story Kitchen is shopping the rights for a movie adaptation of Hazelight Studios' Split Fiction. The game, which launched just a few weeks ago at the beginning of March, has been a smash hit, selling two million copies in its first week on the market. There are no named directors, writers, or actors attached to the project yet, so hold your horses on getting too excited, but at the very least, it sounds like Hollywood studios are interested.

SEE ALSO: 'Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition' review: A forgotten classic is back with a vengeance

Split Fiction is a co-op action-adventure game starring two women who get trapped in virtual worlds modeled after stories they've written as part of an evil plot by a big corporation to steal their work. The game has been critically acclaimed for its clever use of split-screen co-op gameplay, though critics have also pointed out weaknesses in Split Fiction's writing. That's an interesting combination of properties for a game that's being adapted to film. One has to wonder how the most compelling part of the game would translate to a motion picture.

As always, take announcements like this with a grain of salt. Movie adaptations of video games are announced all the time, but many never come to pass. A Metal Gear Solid movie starring Oscar Isaac has been "in the works" for a long time, with no meaningful updates on its progress in years. A studio buying the rights to something doesn't necessarily mean it's going to get made.

Still, this is a sign, if nothing else, that original IPs can still succeed in the world of video games.

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Saturday, March 22, 2025:

AcrossAuction offer

• The answer is Bid.

Side of a diamond

• The answer is Facet.

School subject that anagrams to A GARBLE, fittingly

• The answer is Algebra.

Apple laptop

• The answer is Macbook.

U.S. city that's home to 71 streets with "Peachtree" in their names

• The answer is Atlanta.

Wikipedia.org and weather.com

• The answer is Sites.

Higher ed degree

• The answer is PHD.

DownOne way of resealing tortilla chips

• The answer is Bag clip.

Athlete's frigid recovery treatment

• The answer is Ice bath.

Prepared to eat, as a fish

• The answer is Deboned.

Shoes without heels

• The answer is Flats.

Brings (out)

• The answer is Trots.

Physicians' grp.

• The answer is AMA.

Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar ___ Cardi B

• The answer is AKA.

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

Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of Games

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

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to the latest Mini Crossword.