Games like NYT Connections, ranked
NYT Connections became the second-biggest daily puzzle hit since Wordle by inverting the format: instead of one hidden word, sixteen visible ones and four hidden groups. These ten games scratch the same itch, ordered from closest-clone to most-distant cousin.
The short answer
The closest direct clone is Connections Plus, which mirrors the NYT format with an archive and user-submitted boards. The best adjacent puzzle from the same NYT team is Strands. For a different daily-cadence puzzle that still rewards lateral thinking, try LexSweep.
Direct Connections-style games
1. Connections Plus
The same 4×4 grid, the same four-groups-of-four mechanic, plus a full archive of past puzzles and a stream of community boards. The community boards are uneven in quality but include some genuinely clever themes the NYT would not publish. Free.
2. Strands (NYT)
From the Connections team. A 6×8 letter grid with a hidden theme — find every word that fits the theme, plus the “spangram” that crosses the whole board. More word-search than grouping puzzle, but the lateral-thinking ramp is similar. Free at nytimes.com/games/strands.
3. Apparently (Squardle)
A four-by-four lettered grid where every row and column must spell a valid word. The deduction has the same “commit carefully” feel as Connections — pick the wrong letter for a green tile and you cascade a column out of solvability.
4. Knotwords
A small grid with a list of letters to place. Each row and column must form a valid word using only its assigned letters. The constraint stacking is closer to a crossword than to Connections, but the satisfaction of suddenly seeing the whole grid lock in is identical.
Adjacent daily puzzles for Connections players
5. LinkedIn Tango
LinkedIn quietly built a strong daily puzzle: a small grid where you fill in suns and moons subject to constraints (no three in a row, equality and inequality markers between cells). Pure logic, no wordplay, two-minute play loop. Free and surprisingly polished.
6. LexSweep — for the daily-deduction cadence
A different mechanic — five interlocking words on a 5×5 symmetric grid — but the same satisfying “commit only when you are sure” feel. Eight guesses, two-to- three minute play loop. The symmetry constraint means every green you find propagates to a second cell, which gives the same “suddenly the whole thing unlocks” ending Connections players love.
7. Cine2Nerdle
A daily film-themed grouping puzzle: find the four hidden connections between sixteen movies (shared actor, shared director, shared year, etc.). The lateral-thinking requirement is identical to Connections — categories often cross. Niche but excellent for film people.
8. Bandle
Guess the band from instrument-by-instrument audio clips. Six guesses. The grouping intuition transfers: you are picking apart a layered signal and assembling a category (the band) from sub-categories (the instruments).
9. Thrice (Blossom)
Merriam-Webster’s daily — find as many words as you can from seven letters with one required. Closer to a spelling-bee game than a grouping puzzle, but daily, free, and well-curated.
10. Squaredle
A Boggle-style grid where you find every valid word. Less grouping, more exhaustion- mode word-finding. Strong if you played Connections for the “I see all of it” feeling rather than the category-naming.
What makes a good Connections-style puzzle
Three traits. First, deliberate misdirection — the wrong group should look plausible enough that you genuinely consider it. Second, a small fixed deck of misses (Connections gives four) so commitments feel costly. Third, a sharing format that captures both the win and the path. Connections nailed all three; the best alternatives copy at least two.
If you also like number and geography puzzles, see our roundups of the best daily puzzles and the best free daily puzzles.