Spoiler warning: The hints below start gently, then reveal the category names and all 16 answers. Stop after the hint section if you want to solve the March 30, 2025 puzzle yourself.
Hints for Sunday, March 30
Read these in order: each clue points more directly toward its group.
- Something typical or expected.
- Think of an American symbol.
- Think musicals.
- Each answer comes before a common three-letter word for an adult who identifies as male.
What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?
The March 30, 2025 puzzle is Connections #658. Its four categories and word sets are:
- AVERAGE: MEAN, NORM, PAR, STANDARD
- PICTURED ON THE U.S. GREAT SEAL: ARROWS, EAGLE, OLIVE BRANCH, SHIELD
- PROPER NOUNS IN BROADWAY MUSICAL TITLES THAT ARE SPOKEN PHRASES: BIRDIE, DOLLY, KATE, YANKEES
- ___MAN: BOGEY, CRAFTS, GENTLE, SPOKES
Why the words fit
MEAN, NORM, PAR, and STANDARD can each refer to an average or typical level. ARROWS, an EAGLE, an OLIVE BRANCH, and a SHIELD appear on the U.S. Great Seal. The musical-title words complete Bye Bye Birdie, Hello, Dolly!, Kiss Me, Kate, and Damn Yankees. The final four make BOGEYMAN, CRAFTSMAN, GENTLEMAN, and SPOKESMAN.
#1 Best Overall
- The game where _______ minds think alike!
- Prepare yourself for Blank Slate, a game of addicting predictions! How well can you put your finger on what everyone's thinking?
- Pick a Word Cue card, write the word you think best completes the phrase, and try to match it to anther player's word without giving a single hint
- Easy to learn, quick to play, and fun for the whole family; just grab a slate, write a word, and get ready to make a match. Great for large groups or small gatherings!
- Includes: Scoreboard, 8 dry-erase slates, 250 doubled-sided word cue cards, rules
How NYT Connections works
The New York Times describes Connections as a game in which players receive 16 words and sort them into four groups of four sharing a theme. Its four difficulty colors are yellow, green, blue, and purple, with yellow the easiest and purple the trickiest. The Times says editors curate words and categories using the Oxford Dictionary; because words can appear to fit more than one theme, each puzzle has one intended solution. NYT Help Center: Connections
The daily game becomes available at midnight in the player’s timezone. The Times lists the Games app, nytimes.com/games/connections, nytimes.com/theathletic, and the News app as play locations. NYT Help Center: Connections
Rank #2
- STRATEGIC THINKING: Elevate the fun with this game, where players strategically choose word combinations, making it perfect for party games for adults and family, enhancing both depth and complexity.
- MULTIPLAYER FUN: Engage in multiplayer entertainment with Subtext Showdown, perfect for game nights with 3 to 6 participants, promoting communication and creative thinking in the realm of adult games for game night.
- POINTS OF PRECISION: Accumulate points by adeptly deducing associations or demonstrating telepathic synchronicity, ensuring a gratifying experience for effective communication and intuitive connections in adult board games.
- RACE AGAINST TIME: With a ticking clock, players must think quickly and make their associations before time runs out, adding an exciting element of urgency to the game.
- EXCITING PERFECT GIFT: Combine phrases from the 16 cards to form associations that friends can decode, providing an exhilarating challenge in teen-friendly card games, perfect gift for any occasion.
Can you replay the March 30 puzzle?
The NYT Connections archive goes back to June 12, 2023, but the Help Center says it is available to All Access and Games subscribers. A NYT account is needed to track archive progress and play history. Archived games can affect some game statistics, but they do not change current or maximum streaks. The archive is therefore not necessarily a free way to replay this historical puzzle. NYT Help Center: Connections Archive
Quick Recap
Rank #4
- UNIQUE COOPERATIVE WORD GAME: Write one clue connecting two keywords on each clover leaf. Teammates guess which keyword pair each clue links in this inventive, laugh-out-loud word association game
- CREATIVE PARTY GAME FOR ADULTS: So Clover! challenges players to make unexpected word connections. The more creative your clues, the higher your team scores in this hilarious adult party game
- GREAT FOR WORD GAME FANS: So Clover! takes cooperative word games to the next level with a unique multi-clue clover structure that delivers fresh, surprising, and satisfying creative connections
- FAST, FUN & SOCIAL: Plays in under 30 minutes with 3-6 players ages 10 and up. So Clover! is quick to setup, with no filler, just pure creative energy and highly collaborative family fun from the very first round
- IDEAL GIFT FOR ADULTS & FAMILIES: So Clover! is the party game gift for anyone who loves wordplay and creative thinking. Easy to teach in minutes, endlessly engaging at any family game night
Rank #3
- Two teams race to identify their agents from a 5×5 grid, guided by a spymaster who knows each card’s identity
- Spymasters give one-word clues and a number to link multiple cards, encouraging creative thinking
- Teammates guess words matching the clue while avoiding the other team’s agents, bystanders, and the assassin
- Revealing the assassin ends the game instantly, adding high-stakes tension
- Teams may guess up to the clue number plus one, allowing strategic risks or revisiting old clues
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