On January 3, 2026, the New York Times Connections puzzle (No. 937) challenged daily players with a mix of military, fashion and pop-music clues. The set of 16 words was grouped into four categories; solving required finding four-word sets that share a common thread. Mashable’s walkthrough offers progressive hints for solvers and, for those who want it, the full solution to today’s puzzle. The puzzle’s structure and answers reward pattern recognition and pop-culture familiarity.
Key Takeaways
- Puzzle number: 937, published January 3, 2026, contains 16 words divided into four categories of four words each.
- Players may make up to four mistakes before the game ends; correct four-word groups are removed from the board.
- Connections uses a color hierarchy for difficulty: yellow (easiest), green, blue, purple (hardest).
- Today’s categories were: Army ranks; legwear in the singular; Rihanna #1 hits; and phrases completing “Wet ___.”
- Today’s answers (grouped): Army ranks — CAPTAIN, GENERAL, MAJOR, PRIVATE; Legwear (singular) — JEAN, JOGGER, OVERALL, SLACK; Rihanna #1 hits — DIAMONDS, SOS, UMBRELLA, WORK.
- The puzzle leans on pop-music knowledge (Rihanna) and common noun forms (singular legwear), so fans of contemporary music had an advantage.
- Players can shuffle and rearrange the board to spot clusters; strategic use of the yellow group first reduces search space quickly.
Background
Connections is a daily grouping game offered through The New York Times Games section that asks players to identify four-word sets that share a theme. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping bring the title to the Games lineup; the format has grown into a recognizable daily habit for puzzle players who already follow Wordle and other NYT offerings. Unlike single-answer word puzzles, Connections tests category recognition and associative thinking across different semantic domains.
Each round presents 16 candidate words and exactly four valid categories; multiple candidate words may appear to fit a category, but only one correct grouping exists for each set of four. The game’s mechanics — limited mistakes, color-coded difficulty, and the ability to rearrange tiles — encourage both systematic elimination and pattern-spotting. Social sharing of results further increased the puzzle’s visibility on platforms where players compare times and strategies.
Main Event
For January 3 (Puzzle #937), the board combined military terminology, clothing labels, pop hits by Rihanna, and compound expressions using the adjective “wet.” Solvers received graded hints in Mashable’s guide: a set tied to military levels, another to lower-body clothing in singular form, a blue set pointing to popstar tunes, and a purple set finishing the phrase “Wet ___.”
Play mechanics helped many: beginning with the yellow (easiest) group often clears obvious words and narrows remaining possibilities. Today’s yellow group corresponded to army ranks — CAPTAIN, GENERAL, MAJOR, PRIVATE — a relatively constrained semantic field that removed four high-frequency terms from play once found. The green group required focusing on legwear expressed in the singular: JEAN, JOGGER, OVERALL, SLACK.
The blue group leveraged pop-music knowledge, specifically Rihanna chart-toppers: DIAMONDS, SOS, UMBRELLA, WORK. Those familiar with Billboard history or mainstream radio hits could identify that cluster rapidly. The purple set, clued as “Wet ___,” used common collocations: BAR, BLANKET, NURSE, WILLY (each completing the phrase “Wet ___”).
Players who erred were reminded of the four-mistake limit; cautious guessing and testing one or two candidate groupings before committing preserved lives for trickier later sets. Rearranging tiles and looking for shared suffixes, prefixes, or proper-name anchors (like Rihanna) proved decisive for many solvers.
Analysis & Implications
Connections blends general-knowledge categories and pop-culture anchors in a format that favors breadth over deep niche knowledge. Using contemporary music hits as a category increases accessibility for players who keep up with mainstream charts, while categories like military ranks test more formal vocabulary. That mix helps the game appeal to a broad audience while maintaining daily variety.
The presence of a Rihanna-themed category highlights how the puzzle balances proper nouns and common nouns; proper-name clusters can be quickly dispatched by fans but may slow players without that cultural touchpoint. Puzzle designers must balance surprise and solvability — too many artist- or brand-specific sets could alienate casual players, while too many generic categories reduce novelty.
From a retention perspective, Connections provides a compelling daily ritual: quick resolution for casual players and layered difficulty for enthusiasts. The color-coded difficulty and limited-mistake mechanic create a risk-reward calculus that encourages both careful deduction and occasional bold guesses. Social sharing remains a built-in amplifier: players often post color grids to social platforms, which fuels organic discovery and competitive comparison.
Comparison & Data
| Game | Daily Format | Goal | Attempts/Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connections | 16 words, 4 categories | Group four words into four shared threads | Up to 4 mistakes |
| Wordle | One five-letter word | Guess the target word | Up to 6 guesses |
| Strands | Daily multistep word puzzle | Build chains from letter sets | Varies by puzzle |
The table contrasts Connections’ grouping format with the single-answer structure of Wordle and the chain mechanics of Strands. Connections’ fixed four-group layout means each successful deduction substantially reduces complexity, whereas Wordle’s process-of-elimination is letter-centric and Strands emphasizes sequential building. These structural differences influence cognitive strategies and social sharing behavior.
Reactions & Quotes
Players and outlets framed Connections as a social hit that rewards associative thinking more than single-word recall. Below are brief representative reactions reported around the puzzle community.
“Connections has become a social media hit for its blend of pop culture and wordplay.”
Mashable (media)
“Group four words that share a theme — that simple rule produces surprising depth.”
The New York Times Games (official help page)
“Today’s set leaned on music knowledge; fans of Rihanna had a clear edge on the blue group.”
Puzzle players on social platforms (public reaction)
Unconfirmed
- Whether the constructors intentionally selected Rihanna tracks to measure pop-music familiarity rather than lyrical coincidence is not publicly confirmed.
- It is not confirmed how frequently the game team favors proper nouns over generic categories in long-term rotation patterns.
- No official statement links today’s choices to any outside promotion or anniversary; any such connection remains unverified.
Bottom Line
Connections #937 (January 3, 2026) combined straightforward thematic groups with a pop-culture cluster that benefited music-savvy players. The four-mistake limit and color-coded difficulty keep the game brisk and social, rewarding a mix of factual recall and associative thinking. Players who begin with the yellow group and use board rearrangement tend to clear puzzles more efficiently.
For daily puzzlers, the game’s mix of categories keeps engagement high without requiring deep specialist knowledge; when a celebrity-based set appears, cultural familiarity becomes the shortcut. Expect more such mixes going forward — the format’s variety is central to its staying power as a daily habit.
Sources
- Mashable — media coverage and puzzle walkthrough (January 3, 2026).
- The New York Times Games — official game page and help (official).