Launch Year
2023
1942 (app: 2014)
Price (standalone)
Free with ads or ~$5/mo NYT Games
~$5/mo or bundled with NYT Games
Time to Complete
2–5 minutes
5 min (Mon) – 1+ hr (Sat/Sun)
Daily Puzzles
1 per day
1 per day + huge archive (thousands)
Archive Access
None (no historical puzzles)
1993–present (~3,000+ puzzles)
Difficulty Levels
4 color tiers within one puzzle
Mon–Sun scaling (7 distinct levels)
Mistake Limit
4 mistakes then game over
Unlimited (timer-based scoring)
Learning Curve
Under 1 minute to learn
Hours to master crossword conventions
Multiplayer / Co-op
No (share results only)
Yes — Co-op mode available
Hint / Reveal Feature
No hints available
Yes — reveal letter/word/puzzle
Emoji Result Sharing
Yes — viral grid spoiler format
Basic time/streak share only
Platform Availability
Web, iOS, Android
Web, iOS, Android, print edition
Worth knowing
- Connections became an instant viral hit in 2023, racking up millions of players within weeks of launch.
- The NYT Crossword's Saturday puzzle is intentionally the hardest of the week — it has no theme to help you.
- Connections has just 4 categories per puzzle, but the purple (hardest) tier routinely breaks confident players.
- NYT Crossword constructors must follow strict grid symmetry rules — a constraint dating back to the 1940s.
- You can lose Connections in under 60 seconds if you misread the categories. The Crossword rarely ends that fast.
The NYT Crossword editor will reject a grid if it contains a word deemed 'unpleasant to encounter at breakfast' — a real internal rule called the Breakfast Test. Connections has no such filter, which is why 'THINGS THAT SUCK' is a valid category.
If you wantYou want a daily puzzle that fits in a coffee break
Connections is done in under 5 minutes and gives you bragging rights to share immediately.
→ Pick NYT Connections If you wantYou want a serious, lasting mental workout
The Crossword scales from gentle Monday to brutal Saturday and has thousands of archive puzzles to chew through.
→ Pick NYT Crossword If you wantYou're a puzzle newbie just getting started
Connections has zero learning curve and instant feedback — a friendlier on-ramp than crossword conventions.
→ Pick NYT Connections If you wantYou want the most value for your subscription dollar
Thousands of archived crosswords mean you'll never run out of content for the same monthly price.
→ Pick NYT Crossword Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.