Puzzle Overview
Here are today’s Connections hints and answers for NYT Connections No. 1,236 on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026.
Today’s Connections hints
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough purple group.
Yellow group hint: Got any change?
Green group hint: Cute little cold guys.
Blue group hint: Typefaces.
Purple group hint: Multicolored.
Today’s Connections answers
Yellow group: Things you put coins into.
Green group: Associated with penguins.
Blue group: Ends of famous fonts.
Purple group: Things that feature three colors.
CNET publishes daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is things you put coins into.
The four answers are parking meter, payphone, piggy bank and wishing well.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is associated with penguins.
The four answers are Antarctica, emperor, tuxedo and waddle.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is ends of famous fonts.
The four answers are gothic, Roman, sans and typewriter.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is things that feature three colors.
The four answers are calico, candy corn, Neapolitan and traffic light.
Gameplay Mechanics
In Connections, you look at a grid of 16 words and pick four words that have a connection to one another. You do this four times until all 16 words in the puzzle are grouped. The tough part is that puzzle editors choose words that could fit in multiple groups.
The puzzle platform includes a companion tool to receive a numeric score and analyze your answers after you play. Registered players can track their progress, including puzzles completed, win rates, and win streaks.
