Connections is a game from the New York Times that challenges you to find the association between words. It sounds easy, but it isn’t—Connections categories can be almost anything, and they’re usually quite specific. If you need a hand getting the answers, we’ve got you covered.

What Is Connections?

Connections is a game from the New York Times. The objective is simple: sort 16 words into groups of 4. Each group of words will be connected by some common idea or theme. That common element could be anything. We have seen everything from games that rely on the number of letters in the words to categories that require you to spot an extra letter at the end of the word. Sometimes they’re references to economics, other times they reference fairy tales. There is no telling what sort of association there will be between words.

Once you’re confident you understand the connection, select 4 words, then hit “Submit.” You have only four attempts in total, so don’t be too guess-happy.

July 2 Connections words.

Hints for Today’s Connections Groups

Here are a few hints for the 387th Connections game to get you started:

Arcade, Blame, Numbers, Squid

How Did We Solve This Connections Game?

July 2nd wasn’t too bad, and I certainly struggled less than yesterday.

The first word I went with was stow, since it really only has one meaning, which is “to save or put away for future use.” With that definition in mind, I quickly picked up squirrel (as in the verb), stash, and store. Together, those words made up the Yellow group, “Pack (Away) for Future Use.”

July 2 Connections groups and words.

Next, I shuffled the board. By coincidence, fixed and liquid landed next to each other, and I realized they were both terms that can be used to describe assets (as in real estate, or liquid cash). Frozen assets are another type of asset, and toxic assets are too, though, as the name suggests, they’re worthless. The Green group was “Adjectives for Assets.”

Caveat, Ergo, Quid, and Vox don’t have much in common other than being Latin terms, so I assumed they belonged to the Purple group. That guess was wrong, but they were in a group—Blue, “Latin Words.”

That left arcade, blame, numbers, and squid. I’m not sure I would have seen the connection earlier, but with only the 4 words alone, I realized they were all types of “games.” Purple was properly titled “_____ Game.”

How Do You Guess Connections Groups?

There is no quick, reliable way to approach Connections like there is with Wordle, since Connections isn’t algorithmic. However, there are a few things to keep in mind that can help.

If you didn’t solve this one, don’t feel too bad—there’s always tomorrow! And those words may align with a topic you’re interested in, giving you a leg up on the competition.