The closest games to Connections are Conexo and PuzzGrid, which both have you sort a grid of words into groups of four, and both are free in a web browser. From the New York Times itself, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands are free, Spelling Bee is free with limited access, and The Mini and Letter Boxed need a Games subscription. For a phone app, Red Herring gives you 25 grouping puzzles and a daily puzzle free, and LinkedIn’s Pinpoint is a free daily category game you can play without an account.
Connections is easy to learn and hard to put down: sixteen words, four hidden groups, and at least one word that seems to belong everywhere. The catch is that there is only one puzzle a day.
Below is what Connections costs, then the puzzles that come closest to it. Every game detail comes from the game’s own website, help center, or app store listing, and every game here was live when we checked in October 2026. If Wordle is your other daily habit, our list of brain games like Wordle covers that side.
What is NYT Connections, and is it free?
Connections is the New York Times word-grouping game. You get 16 words and sort them into four groups of four that share something in common. Each group has a color (yellow, green, blue, or purple), with yellow the easiest category and purple the trickiest. Every puzzle has one solution, and several words are chosen to seem to fit more than one group. A puzzle counts as a win if you finish with fewer than four mistakes.
Yes, it is free. The New York Times help center says you do not need to register or sign in, because Connections is free to play on all platforms: the web, the NYT Games app for iPhone, iPad, and Android, and the NYT News app. A new puzzle arrives at midnight in your local time zone.
A Games or All Access subscription adds the full archive of past puzzles, back to June 12, 2023, and Connections Bot, which breaks down the day’s difficulty and how you solved.
Games like Connections at a glance
The closest matches copy what makes Connections work: sorting words into groups, red herrings that fit more than one group, and one short daily puzzle. The others borrow one part, such as hunting for a hidden theme.
| Game | Why it feels similar | Cost | Where to play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conexo | Four groups of four from 16 words | Free, with ads | Web browser |
| PuzzGrid | Groups of four, often against a timer | Free, with ads; optional paid Pro | Web browser |
| Red Herring | Sort words into categories while dodging decoys | 25 puzzles and a daily puzzle free; more to buy | iPhone, iPad, Android |
| LinkedIn Pinpoint | Guess the category that links five clues | Free, no account needed | Web browser, LinkedIn app |
| Contexto | Find a secret word by how closely words relate | Free, with ads | Web browser |
| Connections: Sports Edition | The same game with sports terms | Free | Web, The Athletic app, NYT News app |
| Strands | Find themed words and the hidden theme | Free | Web, NYT Games app |
| Spelling Bee | Build words from seven letters | Free with limited access | Web, NYT Games app |
| The Mini | A small, quick crossword | Games subscription | Web, NYT Games app |
| Letter Boxed | Chain words using letters around a square | Games subscription | Web, NYT Games app |
Grouping games like Connections
Conexo
Conexo is the closest match to the Connections format. Its instructions are short: form four groups of four words that have something in common. Select four words and the game checks them; if you are right, the category appears, and if not, you try again. The screen keeps a running count of your guesses, and a wrong group simply means another try, which makes it a relaxed place to practice.
There is a hint button, and a calendar lets you play earlier days. Conexo is free in a web browser with ads, with an option to remove them. It is made by Daydash, the company behind Contexto.
PuzzGrid
PuzzGrid is built on an older version of the same idea. Its About page says it is based on a round from the BBC quiz show Only Connect. Players write every grid, and its browse page lists more than 79,000 puzzles.
Grids vary. Several we opened gave three minutes to find four groups of four, warned of red herrings, and allowed only three more guesses once two groups were solved. “Slow” grids drop the timer but cap your guesses (at 10 in the ones we saw), and one we opened had six groups instead of four. You can also type what links each group to earn points. Filters for difficulty, region, and player rating help, though quality varies. PuzzGrid is free with ads, and its optional Pro membership adds ad-free play, hints, and more detailed statistics.
Red Herring
Red Herring comes from Blue Ox Family Games, the makers of 7 Little Words. You group words into categories while watching for red herrings, words included only to mislead you. Each puzzle has one correct solution and no time limit, and there are three difficulty levels.
Its App Store and Google Play listings say 25 puzzles and a daily puzzle are free. The App Store lists extra 50-puzzle packs at $1.99 each. The app contains ads. It suits anyone who enjoys the decoys in Connections and wants more than one puzzle a day.
LinkedIn Pinpoint
Pinpoint turns Connections around: instead of sorting words into categories, you name the category. Clues appear one at a time, up to five, and the aim is to name the link in as few as possible; each wrong guess reveals another.
A new puzzle comes out at midnight Pacific Time, and the previous one expires. You do not need a LinkedIn account, though in guest mode your score is kept for only 30 minutes and you cannot keep a streak. LinkedIn also has Wend, a word-finding grid in which every letter is used once, a lot like Strands.
Contexto
Contexto is not a grouping game, but it rewards the same habit of thinking about how words relate. You guess a secret word, and each guess is ranked by how close it is. Its FAQ says an AI algorithm, drawing on thousands of texts, ranks guesses by how closely words are used together online, not necessarily by what they mean. Earlier days’ games stay playable. It is free in a browser, with ads.
Other New York Times games like Connections
The NYT help center lists Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition, Strands, Spelling Bee (with limited access), Sudoku, Pips, and Crossplay as free without a subscription. Everything else, including the archives, needs a subscription that includes Games, which also comes with All Access and Home Delivery.
The help center does not list prices. On the App Store, the NYT Games app lists monthly Games plans at $4.99 to $5.99; prices on nytimes.com and introductory offers can differ.
Connections: Sports Edition is the same game with sports terms, published on The Athletic, the Times’s sports site. It is free.
Strands is a themed word search. You use every letter on the board to find the day’s theme words and work out the hidden theme. One special word, the spangram, touches two opposite sides of the board and sums up the theme, and every three non-theme words you find earn a hint. Like Connections, the real puzzle is spotting the link. It is free.
Spelling Bee gives you seven letters and asks how many words you can make. Every word must include the center letter, and you earn ranks as you score, including Genius. Non-subscribers get limited access; the full puzzle and the answers are for subscribers.
The Mini is a small crossword that NYT describes as solvable in seconds. It is not on NYT’s free list: its help center says it is available with a subscription that includes Games.
Letter Boxed arranges letters around the sides of a square. Words must be at least three letters, the last letter of each word starts the next, and consecutive letters cannot come from the same side. The goal is to use every letter in as few words as possible. It needs a Games subscription.
If you want structured brain training
Daily word puzzles are a pleasant mental workout, but they are not training programs: they do not track your weak spots or plan what you practice next. If you want something more structured, Elevate’s free version gives you a new daily workout every day, and its games practice skills such as reading, writing, vocabulary, and math. Our guide to the best free brain training apps compares what each free version includes.
Zenelia is a brain training app made by Mindkindly’s owner, so we don’t rank or score it here. It costs $6.99 a month or $44.99 a year, has a 7-day free trial, and is iPhone only for now; read more about Zenelia or see it on the App Store.
Are word puzzles good for your brain?
The honest answer is that you get better at the puzzles you practice. A major 2016 review by Daniel Simons and colleagues found extensive evidence that brain training improves performance on the trained tasks, less evidence for closely related tasks, and little evidence that it improves everyday thinking. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) tells people to beware of claims that certain computer and online games can improve memory and thinking. Our guide on whether brain training apps actually work covers the research in depth.
That is no reason to stop. A daily puzzle is a small moment of focused play, and sharing your result with a friend is a nice habit. If you are weighing puzzles against apps, our comparison of brain training and crosswords looks at the head-to-head studies.
Common questions
Is NYT Connections free? Yes. You can play the daily puzzle on the web, in the NYT Games app, or in the NYT News app without an account or a subscription. Only the archive and Connections Bot need a subscription.
Can I play old Connections puzzles? NYT Games and All Access subscribers can play the archive back to June 12, 2023. For free back catalogs, PuzzGrid lists more than 79,000 player-made puzzles, and Conexo and Contexto both let you play earlier days.
Which game is most like Connections? Conexo, which uses the same setup of 16 words in four groups of four and is free in a browser. PuzzGrid is the better match if you want more challenge and a timer.
What is a good pick for someone who dislikes time pressure? Red Herring has no time limit, and Conexo’s instructions simply tell you to try again after a wrong group. If you are choosing puzzles for an older relative, our guide to free brain games for seniors has more ideas.
The bottom line
For the Connections format itself, start with Conexo for a free, relaxed daily grid and PuzzGrid for thousands of player-made grids, many of them timed. Red Herring is the best fit if you want a phone app, and Pinpoint is a quick daily twist that asks you to name the category. Pick the one you look forward to, keep it short, and enjoy it for what it is.
Sources
- Connections (The New York Times Help Center)
- New York Times Games Subscription (The New York Times Help Center)
- Strands (The New York Times Help Center)
- Spelling Bee (The New York Times Help Center)
- Spelling Bee (The New York Times)
- The Mini Crossword (The New York Times Help Center)
- Letter Boxed (The New York Times Help Center)
- Connections (The New York Times)
- Connections: Sports Edition (The Athletic)
- Strands (The New York Times)
- The Mini Crossword (The New York Times)
- NYT Games on the App Store
- NYT Games on Google Play
- Conexo
- Contexto
- About PuzzGrid
- Browse grids (PuzzGrid)
- Red Herring on the App Store
- Red Herring on Google Play
- Games on LinkedIn (LinkedIn Help)
- Play Pinpoint game on LinkedIn (LinkedIn Help)
- Play LinkedIn games in guest mode (LinkedIn Help)
- Play Wend game on LinkedIn (LinkedIn Help)
- What’s included in the free version vs. the upgraded version? (Elevate Support)
- Elevate on the App Store
- Do “brain-training” programs work? (Simons et al., Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 2016)
- Cognitive health and older adults (National Institute on Aging)