The New York Times’ Connections puzzle, in its Sports Edition for October 28th (#400), challenges players to group logos based on shared themes. This edition, published through The Athletic, tested players with a mix of baseball, basketball, and college sports teams. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the groupings and solutions.
Puzzle Overview
This iteration of Connections featured an all-logo grid, favoring players who recognize sports branding. The difficulty ranged from straightforward (identifying AL West teams) to obscure (finding teams with “Golden” in their name). The puzzle is available through The Athletic app or directly on their website for free play.
Grouping Solutions
The puzzle groups were organized by the following themes:
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Yellow Group: AL West Teams
- Angels
- Astros
- Athletics
- Rangers
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Green Group: Seattle Teams
- Kraken (NHL)
- Mariners (MLB)
- Seahawks (NFL)
- Sounders (MLS)
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Blue Group: Kevin Durant’s Teams
- Rockets (NBA)
- Texas (NBA – former Seattle SuperSonics)
- Thunder (NBA)
- Warriors (NBA)
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Purple Group: “Golden” Teams
- Golden Bears (California)
- Golden Gophers (Minnesota)
- Golden Hurricane (Tulsa)
- Golden Knights (Las Vegas)
Difficulty and Key Insights
The most challenging grouping was the purple one, which relied on a less obvious association. The puzzle’s design rewards familiarity with both professional and college sports branding. The Sports Edition, unlike the main Connections game, doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app but is exclusive to The Athletic.
The puzzle’s structure encourages players to look beyond surface-level connections and consider broader themes. This edition’s difficulty stemmed from its reliance on niche knowledge within the sports world.
