“NYT ‘Connections’ #1026: April 2 Hints and Solutions Guide”

The New York Times Connections puzzle offered an animal-leaning challenge that many players found accessible. Fans who like wordplay and zoology had an advantage solving today’s grid.

How the game works

Connections was created with help from associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu. The daily puzzle presents 16 words split into four groups of four.

Players must find each quartet that shares a common thread. You can play on web browsers and mobile devices. The board can be shuffled and rearranged to reveal patterns.

Rules and tips

Each correct four-word group removes those words from the board. A wrong guess counts as a mistake. The game allows up to four mistakes before it ends.

Categories are color-coded by difficulty. Yellow is the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. The puzzle resets each day at midnight.

Today’s answers and categories

Below are the four sets that solved the puzzle referenced in this article.

Support

• BACK
• CHAMPION
• ENDORSE
• SECOND

Opportunity

• CHANCE
• MOMENT
• OPENING
• WINDOW

Male animals

• BUCK
• DRAKE
• DRONE
• STALLION

Ends of liquor brands

• CARDI
• EATER
• MESON
• MIGOS

Hints and strategy

Start by spotting obvious thematic words, like animal names. Remove that group first to reduce clutter on the board.

Look for shared suffixes or prefixes when brand clues appear. Use color cues and the shuffle feature to reveal hidden links.

Filmogaz.com also offers other puzzles for practice. If you seek NYT Connections hints, solutions, or a guide related to #1026 on April 2, note that today’s published puzzle here was numbered #1025. Keep playing; a fresh Connections challenge arrives tomorrow.