Looking for a different day?A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Thursday, July 16 (game #1131).Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints. What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.NYT Connections today (game #1132) - today's words(Image credit: New York Times)Today's NYT Connections words are… CRANE GAMESATIRESTICKETSCARDINAL DIRECTIONSSWAN SONGSUITSROBIN HOODPLOT SPOILERTREE TRUNKTOKENSSEASONSEPILOGUELAST DANCECLASSICAL ELEMENTSFAREWELLPINBALLNYT Connections today (game #1132) - hint #1 - group hintsWhat are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?YELLOW: Final hurrahGREEN: As seen at gaming centerBLUE: Think of a number after threePURPLE: Vehicle bitsNeed more clues? We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…NYT Connections today (game #1132) - hint #2 - group answersWhat are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?YELLOW: GRAND FINALEGREEN: SEEN IN AN ARCADEBLUE: FOUR GROUPS OF FOURPURPLE: ENDING IN PARTS OF A CARRight, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.NYT Connections today (game #1132) - the answers(Image credit: New York Times)The answers to today's Connections, game #1132, are…YELLOW: GRAND FINALE: EPILOGUE, FAREWELL, LAST DANCE, SWAN SONGGREEN: SEEN IN AN ARCADE: CRANE GAME, PINBALL, TICKETS, TOKENSBLUE: FOUR GROUPS OF FOUR: CARDINAL DIRECTIONS, CLASSICAL ELEMENTS, SEASONS, SUITSPURPLE: ENDING IN PARTS OF A CAR: PLOT SPOILER, ROBIN HOOD, SATIRES, TREE TRUNKMy rating: EasyMy score: PerfectEven though I didn't get a purple first I was delighted that I managed to get ENDING IN PARTS OF A CAR at all, as I know nothing about automobiles whatsoever.This particular group needed translating fromAmerican English to UK English for me, because here a trunk is a boot and a spoiler is a bumper.GRAND FINALE was simple, although EPILOGUE feels the odd one out of the quartet as it’s possible to have an ending to a career and then have an EPILOGUE years later — a movie star returning as a director, for example, or a boxer ill-advisedly coming out of retirement to punch a YouTuber.Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Thursday, July 16, 2026, game #1131)YELLOW: SKINCARE PRODUCTS: CLAY MASK, EYE CREAM, PEEL, TONERPURPLE: STARTING WITH TINY MARKS: DOT MATRIX, PERIOD PIECE, POINT BREAK, SPOT REMOVERBLUE: ASSOCIATED WITH PRECISION: BULLSEYE, CLOCKWORK, LASER, NEEDLEGREEN: SHADES OF BLACK: CHARCOAL, INK, JET, PITCHWhat is NYT Connections?NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.