Connections requires players to find the connections between 16 words, and place them in four groups of four. If you want some help, we have the solution to Connections for Tuesday, June 18, 2024, along with hints to help you solve it yourself.

SPOILERS AHEAD (CLUES)

Category Clues for Today’s Connections (#373)

Today, as every day, you need to split the 16 words that make up the Connections puzzle grid into four groups of four based on specific categories. It isn’t as easy as it sounds. Fortunately, we’re on hand to help you solve today’s Connections puzzle.

If you want to jump straight to today’s Connections solution, scroll past the next spoiler warning. However, if you’d rather see some hints designed to help you solve it without giving the answers away first:

• Yellow: “What you can see on the clicker or zapper”
• Green: “When you want someone not to see something”
• Blue: “What a mixologist may stick in your cocktail”
• Purple: “The name’s Connections, Mr. Connections”

SPOILERS AHEAD (CATEGORIES)

Today’s Connections Solution (June 18, 2024)

If those clues aren’t enough, and you’re still struggling to beat Connections #373 without running out of mistakes, here is the answer…

Today’s Connections Categories

• Yellow = “Remote Control Buttons”
• Green = “Hide From View”
• Blue = “Drink Garnishes”
• Purple = “First Word in Bond Movie Titles”

With the categories revealed, you should try to guess which words belong where. There are 16 words in total, with four belonging to each category.

If you are still stuck despite knowing the names of each category, continue scrolling down for the 16 words organized into their respective categories.

SPOILERS AHEAD (SOLUTION)

Today’s Connections Solution

• Yellow: “Remote Control Buttons” = CHANNEL, MENU, POWER, VOLUME
• Green: “Hide From View” = BLOCK, COVER, SCREEN, SHIELD
• Blue: “Drink Garnishes” = CHERRY, OLIVE, SWORD, UMBRELLA
• Purple: “First Word in Bond Movie Titles” = CASINO, DIAMONDS, QUANTUM, TOMORROW

How I Solved Today’s Connections Puzzle

Takeaways from solving today’s Connections…

1. The most obvious red herrings are “channel” and “screen” as two words that could be connected to television, “quantum” and “power” as two words that could be associated with energy, and “sword” and “shield” as two items that were used in medieval warfare.
2. I personally found the Blue category the most difficult today, despite drinking the odd cocktail. Partly because I’m more interested in the taste than the garnish, and partly because I have never had a sword stuck in my cocktail, so that threw me off.
3. I actually found the Purple category quite easy today, as I’m a big fan of the Bond movies. While “tomorrow” is a common word, the others are all words I associate with Bond movie titles before anything else.

Our Top Tips to Beat Connections Every Day

1. Shuffle the words as many times as you need. Shuffling the words around means you’re more likely to spot the connections.
2. Look for differences as well as similarities. The NYT is trying to trip you up, so look for what divides the words with similar meanings.
3. Take your time, and don’t rush into a guess. Connections isn’t a timed challenge, so you have the luxury of planning everything out.
4. Look for common themes over time. The more you play Connections, the more you’ll spot recurring themes cropping up regularly.
5. Tune into the NYT editors’ way of thinking. It’s the puzzle setters you’re competing against, so you need to understand their game plan.

Now that you have completed today’s Connections puzzle (with a little help from your friends at MUO), you should check out some of the other free games from the New York Times.

Wordle is the best-known of them all, and challenges you to find a 5-letter word within six guesses. For every letter you find, you get told if it’s in the correct place, allowing you to whittle down the possible options. If you need help with Wordle, check out our tips and tricks to improve your Wordle score.

There’s also Strands, the newest addition to the New York Times’ burgeoning list of games. Just like Connections, it’s extremely challenging, but in a unique string-the-letters-together way. We recommend you check out our best tips for beating Strands to give yourself a leg up on the daily challenge.

Or, if you’re really only into Connections but want more tips than are offered above, check out our longer list of Connections tips and tricks.