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Players of the New York Times’ daily word-association game NYT Connections tackled puzzle number 818 on Saturday, September 6, as editors and puzzle fans around the world offered fresh Connections hints and step-by-step solutions to help solvers complete the 4×4 grid.

What is NYT Connections?

Launched by The New York Times following the runaway success of Wordle, NYT Connections scatters 16 seemingly unrelated words across a 4×4 grid. Players must group those words into four thematic categories, colour-coded by difficulty — yellow (easiest), green, blue and purple (toughest). Each correct grouping brings the solver closer to finishing the daily challenge; there are only four attempts to place all categories correctly.

For September 6, 2025, the Connections Hints focused solvers on themes ranging from destructive verbs to music awards. Below are the official categories, the brief clues provided to aid solvers, and the answers for today’s puzzle.

Today’s Category Hints (Sept 6, 2025)

• Yellow category hint — Breaking
  
• Green category hint — Supernatural
  
• Blue category hint — Foretelling
  
• Purple category hint — American music related (specifically the blank in “BEST ___ PERFORMANCE” Grammy Award)
  

Categories and Correct Answers (Puzzle #818)

• YELLOW — RUPTURED (Breaking)
  Answers: BLEW, BROKE, BURST, SPLIT
  
• GREEN — APPARITION (Supernatural)
  Answers: SHADE, SPECTER, SPIRIT, WIGHT
  
• BLUE — PREDICT (Foretelling)
  Answers: CALL, DIVINE, FORECAST, READ
  
• PURPLE — “BEST ___ PERFORMANCE” (Grammy award — American music related)
  Answers: AMERICANA, CHORAL, JAZZ, RAP
  

Puzzle solvers will recognise that the purple cluster required a small leap from generic music terms to Grammy award categories — a frequent device in Connections that elevates the challenge for the most difficult group.

How hard was today’s Connections?

On a five-point scale of difficulty commonly used by seasoned players, Saturday’s puzzle rated around 2 out of 5, making it relatively straightforward. The musical purple set was the most domain-specific element, but the other three groups presented clear semantic links that aided rapid identification.

How the answers were found — a solver’s note

Experienced players recommend beginning with the most obvious cluster. On Saturday that meant spotting the supernatural quartet (SHADE, SPECTER, SPIRIT, WIGHT) or the rupture verbs (BLEW, BROKE, BURST, SPLIT). Removing these from the grid often revealed the remaining words, which in turn exposed the forecasting quartet (CALL, DIVINE, FORECAST, READ). The musical terms were then left as the final — and most specialist — grouping.

Strategy and practical tips (Connections Hints for regulars and newcomers)

• Begin with the obvious. Removing an easy category narrows options and reduces misdirection.
  
• Think laterally. Connections often rely on one-word pivots (for example, “call” can mean both ‘telephone’ and ‘predict’) — consider both literal and figurative meanings.
  
• Use the shuffle button. The NYT interface sometimes positions a misleading word to distract; shuffling can reveal new visual groupings that aid insight.
  
• Conserve attempts. With only four category guesses allowed, resist the urge to make hasty placements — an early incorrect grouping wastes a valuable attempt.
  
• Domain knowledge helps. Music, science and idioms are common themes; a modest familiarity with those areas speeds resolution of purple-level sets.
  

Why Connections appeals

Unlike single-word puzzles, Connections asks players to identify relational patterns across small vocabularies and semantic fields. The mix of trivia, vocabulary and lateral thinking makes it attractive both to casual players and to those seeking a brief, daily mental workout.

What to expect next

The New York Times releases a fresh Connections puzzle each day. Difficulty and theme variety vary; solvers who missed today’s grid can revisit archived puzzles for practice. For daily help, many players turn to short guides containing Connections hints and full solutions, which can be especially useful for the trickier purple categories.

FAQs

How many categories are in NYT Connections and what do the colours mean?

There are four categories per puzzle, colour-coded by difficulty: Yellow (easiest), Green, Blue and Purple (hardest).

How many guesses do you get for a Connections puzzle?

Players have four attempts to correctly identify all four categories. An incorrect guess reduces the number of remaining attempts.