Need a nudge on Wednesday, February 4’s NYT Connections puzzle, game #969? Start with four hints below, then reveal the category names or full answer groups when you’re ready. Spoilers follow.
Today’s Connections hints for Feb. 4, 2026
Try these broad clues before looking at the categories or answers:
- Conflict
- Lucky contests
- Roughly speaking
- Basketball starters
Today’s Connections categories
- Yellow: Contention
- Green: Games of chance
- Blue: More or less, colloquially
- Purple: Starting with NBA teams
Today’s Connections answers for game #969
Full solution:
- Yellow — Contention: CONFLICT, DISCORD, FRICTION, RIVALRY
- Green — Games of chance: BINGO, CRAPS, LOTTERY, WAR
- Blue — More or less, colloquially: APPROX, BOUT, LIKE, ROUND
- Purple — Starting with NBA teams: BULLSEYE, HEATED, MAGICAL, NETSCAPE
Why the tricky words fit
HEATED and RIVALRY look like they belong together as a familiar phrase, but they split across two categories: HEATED is in the purple group, while RIVALRY belongs to contention. WAR may also seem to fit contention, but in this puzzle it is grouped with games of chance.
The purple answers begin with the names of NBA teams: Bulls, Heat, Magic and Nets. The blue group uses informal approximations: “approx,” “’bout,” “like” and “round.”
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How NYT Connections works
Connections gives players 16 words to sort into four groups of four based on a shared theme. Each puzzle has exactly one solution, and words may seem to fit multiple categories. The color groups indicate difficulty, from yellow as the easiest to purple as the trickiest. The game is free on NYT Games platforms and releases daily at midnight in a player’s local timezone. NYT Help Center: Connections.
To replay this puzzle, the NYT Connections archive includes past games dating back to June 12, 2023; archive access is available to All Access and Games subscribers. Subscription terms may change.
Quick Recap
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