The working week is slowly but surely coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean it Connections is – and today’s puzzle is as tricky as any other.

Since his debut in The New York Times in June 2023, Connections has quickly built a large following. The puzzle challenges players to group words based on subtle connections, combining logic with language skills. Today, it is the publication’s second most popular game, just behind Word.

According to the publication, the game’s difficulty is rated at 3.3 out of 5 on Thursday, with the website explaining: “The difficulty of each puzzle is determined by averaging the ratings given by a panel of testers who are paid to solve each puzzle in advance to help us catch bugs, inconsistencies and other problems. A higher rating means the puzzle is more difficult.

Newsweek has put together some advice on how to play, as well as hints and the answers for Thursday’s game, so be careful scrolling down if you want to solve it yourself.

Play ‘Connections’ instructions

Each Connections The puzzle contains 16 words, which players must sort into four categories. The goal is to find the common theme for each category, represented by the colors: yellow, green, blue and purple. The categories increase in difficulty, with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue and finally purple: the most challenging and often the most abstract. Some words appear to fit into multiple categories, which can be misleading.

If players get stuck, they can press the shuffle button, which will switch the words on the screen.

Wyna Liu, a crossword editor at The times who were asked to develop Connectionstold Newsweek about her recommended tips for playing the game.

“My best advice is to wait as long as possible before guessing,” she said.

“You may see the board and have fully identified the category, seeing five words that could belong in that category,” she continued. “Don’t try to guess the four words in that category, because even if you know what the fifth paragraph is, you don’t know which of the four it might not be,” which would ultimately waste a turn.

“Don’t do what I do, which is ‘fix anger,’” Liu said.

‘Connections’ #529 Directions for Thursday, November 21

Newsweek has some tips to help you understand today’s situation Connections categories.

Yellow: Different types of clothing that people wear on their torso.

Vegetable: Ingredient of a popular drink that originated in Taiwan.

Blue: Words related to marine life.

Purple: The beginning of four different words that, when completed, spell a type of food.

‘Connections’ #529 Answers for Thursday, November 21

Yellow Category: TYPES OF SHIRTS

Yellow words: Flannel, Oxford, Polo, T-shirt

Green Category: BULBS IN MILK TEA

Green words: Boba, Bubble, Pearl, Tapioca

Blue Category: MARINE INVERTEBRATES, FAMILIARY

Blue words: Coral, jelly, sponge, star

Purple Category: BEGINNING OF PASTA NAMES

Purple words: Fett, Penn, Torte, Zit

Did you guess the answers correctly? If so, congratulations. If not, there’s another chance to crack the puzzle tomorrow.

Connections will be released at midnight in your local time zone. Newsweek returns with a new round of hints and tips for each new game.

In the meantime, you could give it a try Word-another popular game from The New York Timesfor what Newsweek also provides daily tips.