A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Friday, October 23 (game #1230).
Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.
What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Connections today (game #1231) - today's words
Today's NYT Connections words are…
- COMIC
- SALAD
- BACON
- SPARKLER
- POPSICLE
- POP-UP
- CANDY
- HOBBY HORSE
- BANNER
- PINWHEEL
- SPACE
- FILM
- INTERSTITIAL
- SPORTS
- MÖBIUS
- OVERLAY
NYT Connections today (game #1231) - hint #1 - group hints
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Come in narrow pieces
- GREEN: A format you can hold
- BLUE: Methods of internet advertising
- PURPLE: Add a word that rhymes with “car”
Need more clues?
We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…
NYT Connections today (game #1231) - hint #2 - group answers
What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: KINDS OF STRIPS
- GREEN: THINGS ON STICKS
- BLUE: ONLINE AD FORMATS
- PURPLE: _____ BAR
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #1231) - the answers
The answers to today's Connections, game #1231, are…
- YELLOW: KINDS OF STRIPS: BACON, COMIC, FILM, MÖBIUS
- GREEN: THINGS ON STICKS: HOBBY HORSE, PINWHEEL, POPSICLE, SPARKLER
- BLUE: ONLINE AD FORMATS: BANNER, INTERSTITIAL, OVERLAY, POP-UP
- PURPLE: _____ BAR: CANDY, SALAD, SPACE, SPORTS
- My rating: Hard
- My score: 1 mistake
Unlike TV and print advertising, ONLINE AD FORMATS are not something people are going to feel much nostalgia for in the future, mainly because in order to work they decided that they had to be annoying, flickering things that got in the way of what you actually wanted to look at on the internet.
This is where I made my mistake — guessing PINWHEEL before deciding that INTERSTITIAL sounded like the sort of annoying word that belonged in the world of online ads; these are the ones that take up the entire screen and require you to hunt for the X to click off them.
I can’t help thinking online advertising would be more successful if they could find a way to make it less annoying.
Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Friday, October 23, 2026, game #1230)
- YELLOW: FORTHRIGHT: DIRECT, FRANK, OPEN, VOCAL
- GREEN: THINGS YOU INSTALL ON A COMPUTER: DRIVER, EXTENSION, PLUGIN, UPDATE
- BLUE: QUANTITIES IN A FORMULA FOR POWER: DISTANCE, FORCE, POWER, TIME
- PURPLE: _____ TAP: DOUBLE, LOVE, PHONE, SPINAL
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.
It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.