New York Times Connections: Tips for Solving Puzzle #908 on Friday, December 5

Looking for guidance on today's New York Times Connections word challenge? Here's a breakdown to help you tackle Friday's puzzle #908. No shame in peeking these games are meant to test your skills. Here's the strategy I used to solve each group: I started with the purple set, which felt rewarding since I enjoy clearing the hardest part first. The order I completed the groups was: purple, green, yellow, then blue.

Understanding NYT Connections

NYT Connections is a challenging word game. Players are presented with a 4x4 grid of 16 words and must group them into four color-coded categories: yellow, green, blue, and purple. Typically, yellow is the simplest group, while purple is the most difficult.

Your task is to identify the link connecting four words within each color group. For example, a previous puzzle had a blue group labeled "related to buying a home," with words like appraisal, escrow, insurance, mortgage. You have four chances to submit answers, and mistakes are part of the game. Hints are available via the in-game lightbulb icon or from guides like this one.

Note: Only one puzzle is available per day, resetting at midnight.

Tips for Playing

• Pay attention to feedback when an answer is wrong. "One away" means only one word is misplaced rethink which word might belong elsewhere.
• Shuffle the board if stuck; this can reveal new groupings.
• Start with the easier yellow group. These words often share obvious similarities but watch out for misleading options that fit multiple groups.
• If the puzzle is tricky, take a break and return later with a fresh perspective.

Hints for Today's Puzzle

Here are hints to help identify each color group:

• Yellow group: A complicated situation
• Green group: Circumstances
• Blue group: Childhood games
• Purple group: Types of speaking

One word from each group to get started:

• Yellow: Delicate
• Green: Status
• Blue: Operation
• Purple: Pillow

Official Group Names

If you want a bigger hint, here are today's group titles:

• Yellow: Tricky
• Green: State of affairs
• Blue: Classic board games
• Purple: ___ talk

Answers for Puzzle #908

• Yellow (Tricky): complex, delicate, sticky, tough
• Green (State of affairs): deal, situation, status, story
• Blue (Classic board games): Mastermind, Mouse Trap, Operation, Sorry
• Purple (___ talk): baby, pillow, small, sweet

My Experience

I managed a perfect streak this week! Purple was surprisingly simple, and tackling it first made the remaining groups feel easier. Blue took me a little longer than expected. How did you do on todays puzzle?

Author: Caleb Jennings