The New York Times Connections puzzle remains a daily tech-savvy delight for word game enthusiasts, and Game #659, released on Monday, March 31, 2025, was no exception. This brain-teasing grid of 16 words challenged players to uncover four hidden categories, ranging from the straightforward to the delightfully tricky. Whether you’re a seasoned solver or a curious newbie, we’ve compiled the ultimate guide—drawing from top sources like Tom’s Guide, Forbes, Rock Paper Shotgun, and GameRant—to help you conquer today’s puzzle. Let’s dive into the hints, reveal the answers, and explore what made this grid tick.
What Makes NYT Connections a Tech Favorite?
Available on the NYT Games app or website, Connections is a free daily puzzle that drops at midnight local time, tasking players with grouping 16 words into four themed sets. The categories are color-coded by difficulty—yellow (easiest), green, blue, and purple (hardest)—and the game’s single-solution design ensures a satisfying “aha!” moment. With its blend of logic, wordplay, and pattern recognition, it’s no wonder this game has become a staple for tech-minded problem-solvers since its beta launch in June 2023.
Hints to Navigate Game #659
Before we spoil the fun, here are some carefully crafted hints to spark your thinking, distilled from the day’s best coverage:
- Yellow Group: Words tied to consuming or taking in—think of what you do with food or information.
- Green Group: Synonyms for “also” or “in addition”—handy phrases for expanding a sentence.
- Blue Group: Options you’d find at an ATM—perfect for the tech-savvy banking crowd.
- Purple Group: Each word pairs with “play” to form a common phrase—wordplay at its finest.
If these nudge you toward the solution, great! If not, shuffle the grid or read on for the full breakdown.
The Answers Unveiled: Game #659 Solutions
Here’s the complete reveal for Monday, March 31, 2025, as confirmed across our trusted sources:
- Yellow Group – Consumed: ATE, HAD, PUT AWAY, TOOK IN A straightforward set about ingestion—whether it’s a burger or knowledge, these words fit the bill.
- Green Group – Also: AS WELL, BESIDES, TO BOOT, TOO These are your go-to terms for adding a little extra, whether in conversation or code comments.
- Blue Group – ATM Options: BALANCE, DEPOSIT, TRANSFER, WITHDRAWAL A tech tie-in! These are the buttons you’d tap on a cash machine’s touchscreen.
- Purple Group – ____play: FORE, HORSE, SCREEN, WORD The trickiest of the bunch—think foreplay, horseplay, screenplay, and wordplay. A clever linguistic twist.
This grid balanced accessibility with a subtle challenge, making it a standout solve for March 31.
Why Game #659 Resonated with Tech Fans
Kris Holt at Forbes called it “kind of a weird one,” noting the surprising ease of the blue ATM group (which he pegged as green-level difficulty) and the clever inclusion of “to boot” in the green set. Tom’s Guide reflected on the puzzle’s 2.2/5 difficulty rating from the Connections Companion, highlighting how the yellow and purple groups tripped up some solvers due to their deceptive simplicity and wordplay reliance. Rock Paper Shotgun and GameRant praised the purple category’s creativity, with “____play” requiring a mental leap that rewarded outside-the-box thinking—a nod to the problem-solving skills tech enthusiasts love.
Tech Tips to Ace Connections
Want to level up your Connections game? Here’s some advice with a tech twist:
- Algorithmic Thinking: Start with the yellow group—it’s your base case, the easiest pattern to spot.
- Debug with Shuffles: Rearrange the grid to break mental blocks, like rerunning a simulation.
- Parse the Purple: The hardest group often involves puns or prefixes—treat it like decoding a regex.
- Cross-Platform Check: Stuck? Peek at hints from Tom’s Guide or Forbes without spoiling the whole grid.
Why Techies Love NYT Connections
Beyond the daily brain workout, Connections appeals to the tech crowd with its structured yet creative problem-solving. It’s like debugging a program: you analyze inputs (words), test hypotheses (groupings), and iterate until the output (solution) clicks. Plus, with no paywall and a mobile-friendly interface, it’s as accessible as your favorite open-source tool.
Solve Today, Share Tomorrow
Game #659 is live until midnight PDT on March 31, 2025—plenty of time to test your wits. Solved it? Share your streak on social media or drop your thoughts below. Tomorrow’s puzzle awaits, and we’ll be back with more hints and answers to keep your tech brain buzzing.
