NYT Connections today — hints and answers for Friday, October 18 (game #495)

Console Games, Other

Let’s Challenge Your Word Skills with NYT Connections!

If you enjoy word games, you’ll love playing Connections, the NYT’s clever word game that tests your ability to group answers into different categories. It can be quite challenging, so keep reading for some hints if you get stuck.

After you’ve tackled Connections, why not try some other word games to keep the fun going? You can find daily hints and answers for Wordle, Strands, and Quordle to help you out.

SPOILER WARNING: Details about today’s NYT Connections are ahead, so proceed with caution if you want to solve the puzzles on your own.

NYT Connections today (game #495) – today’s words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today’s NYT Connections words are…

  • FLOP
  • CHARGE
  • PLASTIC
  • TURN
  • TIME
  • RIVER
  • CHANCE
  • CARD
  • MISS
  • PRIME
  • BUST
  • SHOT
  • RAINFOREST
  • CREDIT
  • DUD
  • KINDLE

NYT Connections today (game #495) – hint #1 – group hints

Need some clues to group today’s NYT Connections words together?

  • Yellow: This is bad
  • Green: This could be great
  • Blue: No coins required
  • Purple: Is there an Echo here?

If you want more hints, read on for details on the four theme answers for today’s NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #495) – hint #2 – group answers

Ready to uncover the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?

  • YELLOW: CLUNKER
  • GREEN: OPPORTUNITY
  • BLUE: NON-CASH WAY TO PAY
  • PURPLE: AMAZON ___

Hold on, the answers are just below, so avoid scrolling further if you want to solve them on your own.

NYT Connections today (game #495) – the answers

NYT Connections answers for game 495 on a purple background

(Image credit: New York Times)

Here are the answers for today’s Connections, game #495…

  • YELLOW: CLUNKER BUST, DUD, FLOP, MISS
  • GREEN: OPPORTUNITY CHANCE, SHOT, TIME, TURN
  • BLUE: NON-CASH WAY TO PAY CARD, CHARGE, CREDIT, PLASTIC
  • PURPLE: AMAZON ___ KINDLE, PRIME, RAINFOREST, RIVER
  • My rating: Easy
  • My score: Perfect

I did it! I successfully completed the ‘Reverse rainbow’ challenge in today’s NYT Connections game. It was a perfect run with no mistakes, indicating that it was an easy game. The puzzles, especially the AMAZON ___ group, were straightforward and took me only five minutes to solve.

How did you fare today? Share your experience by sending me an email.

Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Thursday, 17 October, game #494)

  • YELLOW: GRASSY AREA GREEN, LAWN, PARK, YARD
  • GREEN: DEAL WITH ADDRESS, ANSWER, FIELD, HANDLE
  • BLUE: MOVIES WITH “S” REMOVED CAR, GOODFELLA, JAW, SWINGER
  • PURPLE: ___ LAW CRIMINAL, HARVARD, LEMON, NATURAL

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is a popular word game created by the New York Times that challenges players to find groups of four items that share a common link. The game offers different difficulty levels for each group: green (easy), yellow (moderate), blue (challenging), and purple (very difficult).

Players can make up to four mistakes and don’t necessarily need to solve the final group, as it can often be deduced by process of elimination. Keep an eye out for wordplay tricks like homophones that can trip you up.

Accessible for free on desktop or mobile via the NYT Games site, NYT Connections provides a more intricate word puzzle experience compared to games like Wordle.