It’s been a sad and scary week. News out of the Middle East has everyone concerned. So today I’d like to help you focus on something small that you have control over: a new way to exercise your mind with the Connections game.
Daughter and I gave up on Wordle months ago. We agreed it relied more on probability than word or language skills. So we’ve been focusing any brain game time we have on the NYT mini crossword. Short, fun, and yet still stimulating. (I did the regular crossword once while I was stuck in bed with COVID. Whew, that’s a 45 minute time commitment I won’t make on normal days.)
While daughter was home last week for fall break, she showed me the newest game on the NYT site- Connections. I love it! And I thought my fellow word nerds might too
How to play Connections
You can find the game in the “play” section of the NYT website or the mobile app. Upon opening the game, you will see a matrix of 16 words. To play, you select four words that you think are related. Sometimes it can be about their meaning, (ways to conceal something: hide, cover, block, etc. Sometimes it has to do with the letters in the word, like palindromes (e.g. Otto, Hannah, Nan.)
After you submit your four words, the game will let you know if you’ve found an appropriate group. Sometimes it gives you hints like , “one off.” It will label the group for you; you don’t have to submit that par. Usually I find three that fit a group I’ve determined in my head, but not a fourth, and that’s when the flexible thinking has to start. I have to move beyond my first guesses and assumptions and brainstorm other ways these random words might be connected.
Why it’s important
Sure, my favorite color is purple, but that’s not why I like this game. I love it because it encourages creative thinking and imagination beyond quick solutions. It’s a perfect micro practice for asking “what am I missing here?” and “what am I not thinking about?” Lately, I’ve been trying to do that more often IRL, striving to see the connections between people and their opinions and actions, and challenging myself to explore what might not be obvious at first.
We all could use a little practice in making connections. This simple, yet often challenging, word game is good practice for something to generalize to more important situations.
By the way, I also like Spelling Bee.
My mother in law plays a lot of word games, including full sized crosswords. Daughter and I marvel at skills in coming up with words. Nana likes to play these games to keep her mind sharp, and we think she’s doing an awesome job.
What apps/ puzzles do you use to exercise your mind? Please share. (Word nerdy ideas are of course preferred, but we will be open to math based puzzles. 😉 )
Thanks for getting nerdy with me!
