“Connections” December 24: Hints and answers for puzzle #562

If you are struggling with Tuesday problems connections, Newsweek is here to help.

The popular puzzle was created by The New York Times in June 2023 and has become the newspaper’s second most played game Wordleanother word based puzzle.

Below you will find game instructions and hints to help you solve the game. However, you will find the answers at the end of the article. So scroll with caution.

How to play “Connections”

The rules of Connections are simple enough to understand. At the start, players are given a table with 16 words, which they must divide into four groups of four based on common characteristics.

Each of the four categories is marked with a color that also indicates its level of difficulty. Yellow is the easiest category, followed by green, blue and purple. However, the puzzles are rarely easy and use homophones and puns, among other things, to challenge players.

Until the end of the game, players have up to four chances to guess incorrectly. There is no time limit, so there is no need to rush anything. You can also mix up the words on the board to see connections you might have initially missed.

Wyna Liu, crossword editor at The New York Just who was commissioned with the development Connectionstold Newsweek about their top tips for playing.

“My best advice is to wait as long as possible before guessing,” she said.

“You may see the board and have fully identified the category by seeing five words that could belong in that category,” she continued. “Don’t try to guess the four words in this category, because even though you know what the fifth element is, you don’t know which of the four it may not be,” which would ultimately be a waste.