The free daily four-groups puzzle Word Groups

How to play Word Groups

Each day you get 16 words. Hidden among them are four groups of four, and each group has something in common. It might be a plain category, like types of pasta, or something sneakier, like words that can come before “cake.” Your job is to sort them all.

1. 1Read all 16 words before you tap anything. Notice which ones seem to belong together, and which ones could fit in more than one place.
2. 2Select four words that you think make a group, then submit them.
3. 3If you're right, the group is solved. Its color tells you how hard it was, from yellow up to purple.
4. 4If you're wrong, it counts as a mistake. When three of your four words belong to the same group, you'll see a “one away” hint.
5. 5Stuck? Tap the shuffle button to mix the remaining words into a new order. A fresh layout can make a link jump out.
6. 6Solve all four groups to finish the puzzle. You have four mistakes to work with, so use them carefully.

A new puzzle arrives every night at midnight Eastern time, which is 9 p.m. on the West Coast. There's just one a day, so there's no rush.

How to get better at Word Groups

Look for the trap before you look for the answer. If five words seem to fit one idea, one of them belongs to a different group, so figure out which one before you submit. Start with the group you're most sure of, even if it isn't the easy one, because every solved group leaves fewer words to confuse you. And say the link out loud first: if it doesn't clearly work for all four words, it probably isn't the group.

What the colors mean

Every group is color-coded by difficulty. Yellow is the easiest, then mint, then blue, and purple is the hardest. The yellow group is usually the most direct link, the kind you spot on your first read.

Purple is where the puzzle gets clever. It's often the connection you only see once the other words are out of the way, and the one that makes you groan when it clicks. You don't have to solve the groups in order, and some days purple is the one you spot first.

More tips for solving Word Groups

• Read every word two ways. Lots of words are both a noun and a verb, or have a second meaning you'd normally skip past.
• Think about hidden patterns: words that can go before or after the same word, words that sound alike, or words hiding a shorter word inside.
• Shuffle when you feel stuck. A new order breaks up the pairs your brain has already locked in.
• Treat “one away” as useful information. Swap one word at a time instead of starting over.
• Don't spend mistakes on hunches. If you're torn, solve a different group first and come back.
• The last group is free. Once three groups are solved, the final four words are whatever is left.

Streaks, stats and sharing

Word Groups keeps your streak and stats on the device you play on. There's no account and nothing to sign up for, so your phone and your laptop each keep their own record. Switch phones or clear your browser data and they start over.

When you finish, you can share a spoiler-free grid of your result. It shows how your solve went without giving away any words or groups, so friends can still play the puzzle fresh.

Playing with friends and family

Word Groups is better with a second brain. Two people looking at the same 16 words see completely different links, and arguing about whether a word is a fruit or a color is half the fun. Solve it together at breakfast, or play separately and compare grids later.

Teachers can put it on a classroom screen and let the class debate each group before anyone hits submit. It's good practice for vocabulary, categories and explaining your thinking, and the words are family-friendly.

Where the word groups puzzle comes from

Sorting words into hidden groups is an older idea than most people think. The British TV quiz Only Connect has a round called the Connecting Wall, where teams sort 16 clues into four groups of four. The New York Times launched its own daily version, Connections, in 2023, and it quickly became part of a lot of people's morning routine.

Word Groups is our own independent free puzzle, with groups we write ourselves. It isn't made by or connected to The New York Times.

Questions