The latest New York Times Connections puzzle, the Sports Edition, tested players on November 20th with categories ranging from Florida-based teams to NHL awards. The puzzle is published by The Athletic, a subscription sports journalism platform owned by the Times, and can be played online or through The Athletic ‘s app.
Today’s Puzzle Breakdown
The puzzle challenges players to group sixteen words into four categories of four, based on shared themes. Here’s how the November 20th edition broke down:
- Yellow Group: Florida teams – Dolphins, Lightning, Magic, and Rays. This group leverages familiarity with professional sports franchises in Florida.
- Green Group: Types of tennis courts – Carpet, Clay, Grass, and Hard. This category requires knowledge of the surfaces used in professional tennis.
- Blue Group: NHL awards – Hart, Lady Byng, Norris, and Vezina. Recognizing these prestigious hockey accolades is key.
- Purple Group: NFL draft No. 1 picks, familiarly – Baker (Mayfield), Eli (Manning), Keyshawn (Johnson), and Orlando (Pace). This is the most obscure grouping, requiring recall of specific first-overall NFL draft selections.
Puzzle Difficulty & Trends
The difficulty of Connections: Sports Edition varies depending on individual sports knowledge. Some previous puzzles have proven particularly challenging, such as those focusing on niche areas like Serie A clubs (Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, Roma) or WNBA MVPs (Catchings, Delle Donne, Fowles, Stewart). The puzzle’s effectiveness lies in its ability to test both general and highly specialized sports trivia.
The Connections puzzle taps into how deeply people follow sports, and the depth of knowledge needed varies wildly.
Ultimately, completing the puzzle requires a broad understanding of sports history, terminology, and current events.
