The New York Times continues to grow the popularity of its daily puzzle collection with NYT Connections, a game that challenges players to uncover hidden links between seemingly unrelated words. The May 20 puzzle, numbered 1074, offers a clever mix of straightforward categories and misleading overlaps, making it moderately challenging even for experienced players. Today's grid includes themes connected to stove settings, strength and power, music terminology, and famous film titles, with the Purple category likely to trip up many participants. This guide includes spoiler-free hints, the full answers, and a quick explanation of how the game works.
What is NYT's 'Connections' Game
Connections is a daily word puzzle from The New York Times that tests players' ability to identify relationships between words. The puzzle is divided into four color-coded difficulty groups: Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple, with each level becoming progressively more difficult. Players are presented with 16 words and must sort them into four groups of four that share a common theme. These links may involve meanings, categories, phrases, structures, cultural references, or wordplay, making the game deceptively tricky despite its simple format.
NYT Connections Hints for Today
- Yellow: Settings commonly found on a stovetop
- Green: Words associated with strength
- Blue: Terms used in music theory
- Purple: Films ending with a common time-related word
NYT Connections Answers for May 20, 2026
Here are the correct groupings for today's puzzle:
- Yellow - Stove Settings: HIGH, MEDIUM, OFF, SIMMER
- Green - Strength or Power: CONCENTRATION, FORCE, INTENSITY, MIGHT
- Blue - Music Terms: INTERVAL, KEY, MODE, SCALE
- Purple - '___ Day' Movies: GROUNDHOG, INDEPENDENCE, THE LONGEST, TRAINING
How to Play NYT Connections
Understand the Objective
The game presents a grid of 16 words, and your task is to organize them into four groups of four. Each group is connected by a hidden relationship that may involve meaning, phrases, themes, or wordplay.
Access the Puzzle
A new Connections puzzle is released daily on The New York Times Games website and the NYT mobile app.
Begin Analyzing
Carefully scan all 16 words and look for the most obvious links first. Rearranging the board can help reveal hidden patterns and reduce confusion caused by overlapping themes.
Submit Your Selections
Choose four words that you believe belong together and submit them. The game will confirm whether your grouping is correct.
Review the Feedback
Correct categories are color-coded and locked into place. Incorrect guesses reduce your remaining attempts, so strategic elimination becomes increasingly important.
Manage Your Mistakes
Players have a limited number of incorrect attempts available, making careful reasoning essential when tackling the harder Blue and Purple groups.
Other NYT Games to Explore
If you enjoy Connections, The New York Times also offers several other popular puzzle games:
- Wordle: Guess a five-letter word within six attempts
- Spelling Bee: Create as many words as possible using a set of letters
- The Mini Crossword: A short daily crossword challenge
- Strands: A modern twist on the classic word-search format
About the Author
The TOI Tech Desk is a dedicated team of journalists committed to delivering the latest and most relevant news from the world of technology to readers of The Times of India. The TOI Tech Desk's news coverage spans a wide spectrum across gadget launches, gadget reviews, trends, in-depth analysis, exclusive reports, and breaking stories that impact technology and the digital universe. Be it how-tos or the latest happenings in AI, cybersecurity, personal gadgets, platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and more, the TOI Tech Desk brings the news with accuracy and authenticity.
