Connections

Sort sixteen words into four hidden groups. Yellow is forgiving, purple hides the wordplay. Four mistakes and you're out.

How to Play Connections

A word-grouping puzzle where every word belongs to one of four hidden categories.

Game Rules

16 words appear in a 4×4 grid — your job is to find the four groups of four.
Tap up to four words and press Submit to test a guess.
You have four mistakes before the game ends.
If three of your four picks belong to a group, you'll see "one away" — and still lose a mistake.
Solve all four groups to win.

Difficulty Levels

Yellow: Easy. Usually a straightforward category like "citrus fruits" or "coffee drinks."
Green: Medium. Common themes that take a moment to spot.
Blue: Hard. Often requires lateral thinking.
Purple: Tricky. Wordplay, hidden words, or "fill in the blank" patterns.

Strategy Tips

Start with the words that obviously fit one category — that locks in pieces of the harder groups.
Watch out for words that fit multiple categories. The trickiest groups often steal words from the easy ones.
Use Shuffle to see the words from a fresh angle when you're stuck.
Save the purple group for last — its theme often becomes obvious once the other groups are gone.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Enter: Submit your current guess
Escape / Backspace: Deselect all tiles
S: Shuffle the remaining tiles

Word GameLateral ThinkingUnlimited Puzzles

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions and answers about playing Connections Unlimited.

What is Connections?: Connections is a word puzzle game where you sort 16 words into four groups of four. Each group shares a hidden theme — sometimes obvious, sometimes a tricky play on words.
How do I play?: Tap or click four words you think share a theme, then press Submit. If all four belong to the same group, it gets revealed. If not, you lose one of your four mistakes.
What do the colors mean?: Yellow groups are the easiest, green is medium, blue is hard, and purple is the trickiest — usually involving wordplay, hidden words, or "fill in the blank" patterns.
What does "one away" mean?: It means three of your four selected words belong to the same group, but one is wrong. Try swapping out one word and see what happens.
How many mistakes can I make?: You get four mistakes per puzzle. After the fourth wrong guess, the game ends and the remaining groups are revealed.
Is this the daily Connections?: No — this is Connections Unlimited. A new random puzzle is selected every time you start a new game, so you can play as many rounds as you like.
What does the Shuffle button do?: Shuffle rearranges the unsolved tiles. It does not change which words belong to which group — it just helps you spot connections from a different angle.
Are there keyboard shortcuts?: Yes — press Enter to submit, Escape or Backspace to deselect all, and S to shuffle. You can also tap the buttons on screen.
Can I play on mobile?: Absolutely. The grid is touch-friendly with large tap targets, and the layout adapts to small screens.
Is there a color-blind option?: Yes. Open Settings and turn on High Contrast Colors to add shape symbols (●, ■, ▲, ★) so groups can be told apart without relying on hue.