If you have hit a roadblock with today’s Connections, then Newsweek has compiled some helpful clues.
The popular brainteaser has built a large fan base since its release to the public in June 2023 by The New York Times. Today, it is the publication’s second-most played game after the wildly successful Wordle. While both puzzles are word-based, Connections challenges users to find common themes in a set of words.
Keep scrolling for Newsweek‘s hints and answers to #618.
How To Play ‘Connections’
If you’ve never played Connections before, it is easy to catch on. Players are tasked with separating a set of 16 words into four categories based on shared characteristics. Each category is color-coded yellow, green, blue or purple and have varying levels of difficulty. Yellow is the easiest, while purple is the hardest, and green and blue are of medium difficulty.
For example, in Monday’s puzzle, the words “break,” “leave,” “rest” and “vacation” were associated with the yellow category, “Time off.”
Once you have chosen your words, click the “Submit” button. If you got the answers correct, they will appear in their category color and will be removed from the board. However, if they are incorrect, they will remain on the board for you to try again.
In June last year, Wyna Liu—who creates the daily Connections games and is also a puzzle editor at the NYT—told Newsweek she takes inspiration from her experiences to build the brainteasers.
“I usually don’t know where a board is going to go,” she said.
In a piece written for The New York Times, Liu said she keeps a notebook to “jot down category ideas.”
“Some categories might be defined by their use of wordplay—palindromes, homophones, adding or dropping letters and words—rather than the literal meanings of the words on the cards,” Liu wrote in 2023. “I saw three areas of potential difficulty that could be adjusted: the familiarity of the words, the ambiguity of their categorization and the variety of the wordplay.”
‘Connections’ #618 Hints and Clues for Tuesday, February 18
Below are Newsweek‘s hints to help you with Tuesday’s game:
Yellow: An indentation, depression
Green: At hand
Blue: Terms for a satisfying meal
Purple: Words used in Britain
‘Connections’ #618 Answers for Tuesday, February 18
Yellow Category: CRATER
Yellow Words: Cavity, Hole, Hollow, Pit
Green Category: ACCESSIBLE
Green Words: Available, Handy, Nearby, Ready
Blue Category: SUBSTANTIAL AS A MEAL
Blue Words: Filling, Hearty, Solid, Square
Purple Category: BRITISHISMS
Purple Words: Butty, Chippy, Footy, Telly
You are a vocabulary star if you managed to get today’s Connections correct, but it is fine if you didn’t. You’ll get another chance on Wednesday when a new game will be available for you to try.
Connections is released at midnight in your local time zone, so be sure to check back with Newsweek daily for more hints and answers.
Feeling impatient before the next Connections is released? These other popular word games are quite the challenge, too.
The post ‘Connections’ February 18: Hints and Answers for Puzzle #618 appeared first on Newsweek.
