So, I got really into those New York Times games for a bit. You know, Wordle, the Mini Crossword, Spelling Bee… and Connections. Man, Connections sometimes makes you feel smart, and other times like a complete idiot. I saw people sharing their own custom puzzles online, think they called it something like ‘you cant make me nyt’ or whatever, basically letting you build your own Connections grid. Looked fun, right? How hard could it be?
Famous last words. I figured, okay, I’ll whip one up. Sit down with my coffee, open a notes app. Easy peasy. I need four groups, four words each. Let’s start brainstorming.
Okay, First Try
My first idea was maybe, like, types of pasta? Spaghetti, Fettuccine, Penne, Rigatoni. Okay, one group down. Felt pretty good. Then I thought, maybe… car brands? Ford, Toyota, Honda, BMW. Simple enough. Two down. See? Not so bad.
Then it started getting tricky. I needed two more groups. And the words needed to be kinda… mixed up? So it wasn’t obvious. I tried thinking of, I don’t know, things you find in a kitchen. Spoon, Fork, Knife… uh oh. Only three. Okay, Plate? But that feels different. What about Oven, Microwave, Stove… Toaster? Yeah, okay. Group three.
Where It Fell Apart
Now the last group. And this is where my brain just… stopped. I had leftover words in my head, maybe things like ‘Apple’, ‘Orange’, ‘Banana’. Fruits! Easy! But wait. BMW. Apple. Ford. Plate. Spoon… I looked at the sixteen words I had jotted down:
- Spaghetti
- Fettuccine
- Penne
- Rigatoni
- Ford
- Toyota
- Honda
- BMW
- Oven
- Microwave
- Stove
- Toaster
- Apple
- Orange
- Banana
- Spoon
Okay, hold on. ‘Apple’ could be fruit, or it could be the tech company. ‘Ford’ is a car, but also a river crossing? ‘Penne’ is pasta, but sounds like ‘penny’. This wasn’t working. The whole point is that words could seem to fit elsewhere, creating that confusion. My categories were too straightforward, and I didn’t have enough clever overlaps or red herrings.
It got frustrating, fast. I spent maybe an hour just staring at lists of words, trying to find four groups where the words felt connected but not too connected, and where there were tricky words that could belong in multiple categories. It’s way harder than just solving one.
Giving Up (Sort Of)
Honestly? I kinda gave up on making a good one. I realized why the NYT editors probably spend ages refining these things. You need a certain kind of brain, I think. One that sees weird connections everywhere.
I did manage to make a really dumb, simple one just to say I did it, but it wasn’t clever. It wasn’t something I’d share. It was more like:
- Colors: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow
- Numbers: One, Two, Three, Four
- Animals: Cat, Dog, Bird, Fish
- Fruits: Apple, Pear, Grape, Lime
See? Boring. No challenge. No misdirection. Lime could maybe be a color? That’s about the only overlap. It just wasn’t the same.
What I Reckon Now
So, yeah. You can make one, technically. But making one that actually feels like a proper Connections puzzle? That takes some serious thought. It gave me a new appreciation for the official ones, even the ones that make me tear my hair out.
It’s funny how something that looks simple on the surface can be surprisingly complex underneath. Like trying to assemble cheap furniture or figure out why the printer isn’t working. Some things just aren’t worth the headache. I’ll stick to solving them, I think. Much less stressful.