Do you like making connections in life? No, I am not talking about the ones on LinkedIn, but NYT’s much-hyped Connections game. Unlike the social media app, creating a connection in the game is pretty easy as you need to categorize four similar words into a category. It’s a simple yet challenging game that can test your wits as well as your vocabulary skills. So, without any further ado, here are the answers and hints for today’s NYT Connections #962 for January 28, 2026.
Today’s NYT Connections #962 Hints for January 28, 2026
- Yellow category hint : Not the real deal; something designed to look like the original.
- Green category hint: Items you’d grab from under the sink for a weekend chore.
- Blue category hint : These parts work together to bring vinyl records to life.
- Purple category hint: Every one of these words can follow the same four-letter adjective meaning “extra.”
Did you guess all the words? Let’s take a look at them below.
Today’s NYT Connections #962 Answer for January 28, 2026
- Yellow Category: DUMMY, MOCK, PRETEND, SHAM (IMITATION)
- Green Category : BUCKET, GLOVES, RAG, SOAP (CLEANING SUPPLIES)
- Blue Category: MOTOR, NEEDLE, PLATTER, TONEARM (COMPONENTS OF A RECORD PLAYER)
- Purple Category: ME, RIB, TIME, TIRE (SPARE____)
What do you think of today’s NYT Connections puzzle?
Today’s Connections puzzle was a real treat for the observant solver. Yellow and Green felt like a warm-up, offering clear themes that didn’t require too much overthinking. The difficulty spiked perfectly with Blue, requiring a bit of technical knowledge about vintage audio equipment. Purple was the true highlight, though—the connection is one of those “hidden in plain sight” wordplay gems that makes you kick yourself once you finally see it. Overall, a very polished grid that earns a solid 4 out of 5 for its clever construction.
You can also checkout today’s answers for other NYT puzzles :
- NYT Strands Puzzle Answers
- NYT Wordle Answers
- NYT Spelling Bee Answers
- NYT PIPS Answers
- NYT Mini Crossword
How to Play NYT Connections
Playing NYT Connections is pretty straightforward, as you need to group four similar words in a single group . However, the difficulty increases, with the yellow category being the easiest and purple being the hardest. The green category refers to moderate difficulty, while blue is complex, being one notch above.
There are 16 words in each puzzle , and there is a theme for each group, although the puzzle doesn’t reveal it. You only get four chances to correctly guess every group’s meaning; you can have four incorrect guesses, so use them wisely. If the answer is correct, you can move on to the next group; otherwise, you are stuck with the same one.
Moreover, just like Wordle, Connections refreshes every 24 hours, so you will need to wait till the next day for a fresh one. Also, if you guess incorrectly, there’s no way to play the game again, and it will simply reveal the correct results.
While playing the game itself does not require an NYT connection, you will need to create one if you wish to track your progress. You can also share your results by copying them to the clipboard and pasting them wherever you want.
