NYT Connections players slam October 16 puzzle as being ‘impossible’

Players of the NYT Connections game were fiercely divided over the October 16 puzzle.

In the game, people try to divide sixteen words into four groups that share some kind of connection.

It has exploded in popularity in recent months and every day thousands of people around the world log in to put their skills to the test and solve the difficult word puzzle.

Then many take to social media to share their results and compare with others how quickly they figured it out.

But on Wednesday, people on the Internet seemed completely divided over the puzzle. Some called it ‘fast’ and ‘easy’ and others called it ‘impossible’ and ‘challenging’.

One person even accused the creators of being “discriminatory” with one of the solutions.

The four categories for Wednesday’s words were: at a later time, parts of a tournament setup, pieces of cereal and what the outstretched index and middle fingers might represent.

The first group included several ways to describe a time in the near future, including eventually, later, after that, and soon.

The second consisted of several terms related to sporting events, such as bracket, bye, round and seeding.

The third category in the Oct. 16 puzzle contained four words related to famous cereals – including Cheerio, flake, pebble, puff – while the final group consisted of words that could represent holding up two fingers, such as peace, scissors, two, and victory.

Numerous players took to Reddit to share their thoughts on the puzzle after completing it, with many admitting they were confused about some of the answers.

‘Someone, please help me. I don’t understand [the last category] not at all,” one user wrote.

‘And what do these things have to do with a tournament? I don’t feel like it.’

“How does ‘bye’ fit into that category?” another person asked.

“I guess it’s like if your opponent doesn’t show up, you get a ‘bye’ for the next round,” another user explained.

“Personally, I’m not that familiar with the term ‘bye’ when it comes to a tournament,” someone else confessed.

“I have no idea about cereal brands because it’s not something where I’m from,” read a fourth angry comment. “I didn’t know ‘bye’ was used that way either.”

“I’ve never heard of a Cheerio,” said a sixth, posted by someone living in New Zealand.

‘I am thoroughly confused by the mix of brands and types [in the cereal category]another person admitted.

“Puffs, flakes and pebbles are all types of cereal made by any brand, while Cheerios is a real brand.”

“I ruled out Cheerio as a cereal because it is a specific brand and no way would they use a brand name mixed in with a bunch of generic cereal,” another frustrated player wrote.

They then labeled the game as “discriminatory” because it often includes sports-related categories.

Just a day earlier, one of the categories was football positions.

“I’m starting to think this game is discriminatory against people who don’t play sports,” they continued.

“I don’t know what a seed is and I don’t really care enough to look it up.”

Others, however, defended the October 16 puzzle.

“Discriminatory is such a harsh and downright incorrect word here,” someone else responded.

‘I had problems with green too, but I just don’t know any sports trivia. I don’t really have that against this game.’

“Quick, easy,” another user wrote, while a third added: “I really enjoyed this puzzle. Challenging, but solvable.’

“Pretty easy,” another person praised.

Connections, which launched last year, is the New York Times’ most popular game after Wordle.

Everdeen Mason, editor of the Times’s Games section, told us Vox earlier this year that she didn’t have to deal with ‘grumpy’ players who get frustrated with how difficult it is.

“My job here is to deceive you,” she admitted at the time.