Connections is The New York Times’ most played game after Wordle

The gamers behind the Gray Lady have a new game to add into our morning rotations: Connections, which invites the player to categorize 16 words or phrases into four distinct groups of four.

The daily puzzle game debuted in beta on June 12, and according to the New York Times, it’s now the paper’s second most popular game — of course, Wordle holds the top spot. This is an impressive feat for the game, since until today, it was only playable on web browsers. But now, the game will be integrated into the New York Times and New York Times Games apps on iOS and Android, bringing in even more players.

“Each day reveals a clever, thoughtful, relevant, human-made puzzle that tries to trick you, and makes the challenge of solving it extremely rewarding,” said New York Times head of games Jonathan Knight (isn’t it wild that he has to clarify the game is made by humans?).

The Times also said that about 9 out of 10 every ten people who play the game will see it through until the end, whether they win or lose; per Knight’s prepared statements, the game has “millions” of players, and is the most popular in-house game launch since the Mini, a bite-sized crossword.

Earlier this month, the Times sunsetted its math game toptechtrends.com/2023/07/26/rip-digits-the-new-york-times-math-game/”>Digits, which was also in beta. With the integration into the New York Times’ apps, Connections fans can rest easy knowing that the game is here to stay.

The New York Times’ gaming section has been toptechtrends.com/2022/01/31/popular-puzzle-game-wordle-is-being-purchased-by-the-new-york-times/”>booming since its toptechtrends.com/2022/01/31/popular-puzzle-game-wordle-is-being-purchased-by-the-new-york-times/”>acquisition of Wordle last year. Just a few months after buying Wordle, the New York Times said that the game had brought in toptechtrends.com/2022/05/04/wordle-new-york-times-user-growth/”>tens of millions of new users.

Connections isn’t quite the once-in-a-blue-moon viral phenomenon that was Wordle, but if you like wordplay, it’s pretty darn fun.