Best Connections Alternatives

Love NYT Connections but want more puzzles? Discover Quartiles — a creative word game that challenges you to build words instead of finding categories.

Connections vs. Quartiles

🔗 Connections

NYT Games

How it Works:

Find groups of 4 words that share a common theme or category.

Pros:

  • • Excellent category thinking exercise
  • • Great "aha!" moments
  • • Quality puzzle design
  • • Good difficulty progression

Cons:

  • • Only 1 puzzle per day
  • • Requires NYT subscription
  • • Limited attempts (4 mistakes)
  • • Can be frustratingly obscure
  • • No hints available

Quartiles

RECOMMENDED ALTERNATIVE

How it Works:

Combine letter segments to build multiple words from the same puzzle.

Pros:

  • • Unlimited puzzles available
  • • Completely free to play
  • • Multiple words per puzzle
  • • Hint system when stuck
  • • More forgiving gameplay

Different Skills:

  • • Vocabulary building focus
  • • Pattern recognition
  • • Creative word formation
  • • Less categorical thinking

Why Connections Fans Love Quartiles

🧩

Same Puzzle Satisfaction

Get that same "clicking into place" feeling when you discover how segments combine to form the perfect word.

No Daily Limits

Never wait for tomorrow! Play as many puzzles as you want with 580+ levels and daily themed challenges.

Forgiving Gameplay

No mistake limits or pressure. Explore, experiment, and discover words at your own pace with helpful hints.

Skills You'll Develop

🔗 Connections Develops:

  • 1Categorical thinking — Finding hidden connections between seemingly unrelated words
  • 2Cultural knowledge — Recognizing references to pop culture, history, and common themes
  • 3Deductive reasoning — Eliminating possibilities to find the right groupings

Quartiles Develops:

  • 1Vocabulary expansion — Learning new words and understanding word formation
  • 2Pattern recognition — Spotting prefixes, suffixes, and common letter combinations
  • 3Creative thinking — Finding multiple solutions and building words from fragments

Other Connections-Style Games

Red Herring

Similar grouping concept but with intentional misleading words.

Web-based • Free

Semantle

Guess the secret word using semantic similarity hints from Semantle.com.

Web-based • Free

Contexto

Find the secret word based on contextual clues and AI similarity ranking.

Web-based • Free

Why we recommend Quartiles: While these games offer interesting twists, Quartiles provides the most content and replay value with its 580+ levels, daily puzzles, and unlimited free gameplay. Learn more about brain training benefitsfrom word puzzle games.

Explore More Word Game Alternatives

Ready to Try Something New?

If you love Connections' puzzle-solving satisfaction, you'll love Quartiles' creative word-building challenges!

Completely free • No subscription required • Play instantly