Connections Difficulty Today: #1230 Rated 3.3/5 (Medium+)
Find out how hard today's NYT Connections is before you start. This page gives you today's overall score, a score for every color group, yesterday's rating, mistake statistics, the hardest and easiest puzzles of 2026, recent trends and difficulty by day of the week. Today's groups are explained without spoilers unless you open them.
Updated October 23, 2026 · By Casey Marlowe
Puzzle #1230 · Friday, October 23, 2026
Today's Connections Difficulty Score: 3.3/5 (Medium+)
The official NYT Connections Companion rating for puzzle #1230. The color bars are our own editorial breakdown.
The short version. NYT testers rate today's puzzle 3.3, a clear step up from a typical day. Yellow and green are approachable, but blue needs a little school physics and purple is a fill-in-the-blank with a phrase that is not common knowledge.
Mistake statistics from real players take a day or two to collect. The latest fully scored breakdown is #1173 (Aug 27), rated 3.4/5 Medium+, shown further down this page.
Why Today's Connections Is Rated Medium+
The main things that helped you and the main things that can slow you down, with no answers given away.
What makes it easier
- The yellow group uses plain, everyday words that share one clear idea.
- The green theme is familiar to anyone who uses a computer.
- No group depends on brand names or celebrity trivia.
- The blue words all come from one school-physics formula, which is easy to check once you recall it.
What can trip you up
- Almost every word has a second common meaning, so many of them fit more than one group at a glance.
- One word fits the technology theme but belongs to a different idea, so the order of your guesses matters.
- The blue group relies on basic physics that not everyone remembers.
- The purple group is a fill-in-the-blank with no blank shown, so it only works once you test the missing word.
Today's Connections Difficulty by Group
Each color gets its own editorial score, since the NYT publishes only one rating per puzzle. The answers sit behind a button, so you can read how hard a group is without seeing it.
Yellow group: Easiest · 2.0/5
Four words for speaking plainly and openly. The theme is easy to name, but DIRECT, OPEN and FRANK each have other common meanings.
Why it is rated 2.0: common vocabulary and one clear theme, with three words that also mean something else and so can wander off for a moment.
Show the category and words (spoiler)
Category: Forthright
All four describe someone who says what they think. FRANK is also a first name and OPEN can mean not closed, which is how they drift away from the group.
Green group: Easy · 2.2/5
Four things you add to a computer. Almost everyone knows the theme, but each word also has a non-computer meaning.
Why it is rated 2.2: the theme is familiar to anyone who uses a computer, though DRIVER, EXTENSION and UPDATE all read as something else at first glance.
Show the category and words (spoiler)
Category: Things You Install On A Computer
All four are installed on a computer. EXTENSION can also be a phone line, which is why it can pull toward another group.
Blue group: Medium · 2.5/5
A physics group made of simple, everyday words. It needs basic school physics to see the link.
Why it is rated 2.5: the link depends on remembering one physics formula, and POWER, FORCE and TIME are ordinary words that can look like they belong elsewhere.
Show the category and words (spoiler)
Category: Quantities In A Formula For Power
Power equals force times distance divided by time, so all four sit in one formula. POWER and TIME are the two easiest to misplace.
Purple group: Trickiest · 3.4/5
A fill-in-the-blank group where one missing word follows every entry. The link is invisible on the board until you test that word.
Why it is rated 3.4: each word is common and fits other ideas, the missing word is never shown, and one of the four phrases is less familiar than the rest.
Show the category and words (spoiler)
Category: ___ Tap
Double tap, love tap, phone tap and spinal tap. PHONE can drift toward the computer group and LOVE and DOUBLE look like plain words.
Yesterday's Connections Difficulty: #1229 (Our Estimate: 2.7/5)
Puzzle #1229 (Thursday, October 22) combined a plain yellow with sculpture and American football groups and a purple of bedding words missing their endings. The official NYT rating for #1229 was not available at the time of this update, so the figures here are our own estimate. Tap a number to reveal each word.
Almost every word had a second meaning, and a cluster of comfort and protection words acted as a decoy. Purple only worked once each word was completed: blanket, comforter, pillow and sheet.
Full hints and solution: Yesterday's Connections Answer: Full Hints, Solution and Difficulty Breakdown.
How Today's Connections Compares With Recent Puzzles
NYT Connections Companion ratings for the October puzzles we could confirm, next to today's. A lower number means an easier puzzle.
Today sits 0.7 above the 2.6 average of these five puzzles and 0.7 above the next hardest, #1227 at 2.6. It is the highest NYT rating of the group.
Connections Mistake Distribution: How Many Mistakes Players Made on #1173
Each bar shows how many mistakes players made on the most recent puzzle with a complete breakdown (Aug 27). Today's and yesterday's full breakdowns will replace it once results are in.
Most common result: 1 mistake (34.4% of players). Clean-solve rate 31.0%. Fail rate 5.2%.
Was Connections #1173 Harder Than the Average Puzzle?
Across the 312 puzzles in our data, the all-time mean is 2.63/5. Connections #1173 landed noticeably above it, and its fail rate came in 2.1 percentage points above the usual 3.1%.
#1173 (Aug 27)
Mistake distribution for puzzle #1173.
All-time average
Mistake distribution across all scored puzzles.
Hardest Connections Puzzles of August 2026
The toughest scored puzzle of August was #1173 ("Music Genre + Starting Letter"), averaging 3.4/5. #1165 ("Homophones Of CGI-Animated Films") and #1157 ("Homophones Of Facial Features") followed close behind. Tap a number to reveal a word.
| # | Hardest category | Puzzle | Score | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Music Genre + Starting Letter | #1173 · Aug 27 | 3.4/5 | MEDIUM+ |
| 2 | Homophones Of CGI-Animated Films | #1165 · Aug 19 | 3.3/5 | MEDIUM+ |
| 3 | Homophones Of Facial Features | #1157 · Aug 11 | 3.3/5 | MEDIUM+ |
| 4 | Starting With Words Of Intention | #1178 · Sep 1 | 3.2/5 | MEDIUM+ |
| 5 | Ending In Ice Cream Orders | #1171 · Aug 25 | 3.2/5 | MEDIUM+ |
| 6 | Letter Homophone + Tennis Term | #1170 · Aug 24 | 3.1/5 | MEDIUM |
| 7 | ___ Bowl | #1177 · Aug 31 | 3.1/5 | MEDIUM |
| 8 | Starting With Figures From Greek Myth | #1175 · Aug 29 | 3.0/5 | MEDIUM |
October puzzles so far. Puzzles #1208 through #1230 join these rankings once their difficulty scores are validated.
Hardest Connections Puzzles of 2026
Across 2026, #1127 ("Starts Of U.S. Capitals") stands as the toughest puzzle so far, the only one to date rated at the top of our difficulty scale.
| # | Hardest category | Puzzle | Score | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Starts Of U.S. Capitals | #1127 · Jul 12 | 4.4/5 | HARD |
| 2 | Starting With Tiny Marks | #1131 · Jul 16 | 4.1/5 | HARD |
| 3 | Starting With Merriments | #1146 · Jul 31 | 4.0/5 | HARD |
| 4 | Starting With Smooches | #1128 · Jul 13 | 3.9/5 | HARD |
| 5 | Starting With Baseball Calls | #1125 · Jul 10 | 3.9/5 | HARD |
| 6 | House ___ | #1123 · Jul 8 | 3.8/5 | HARD |
| 7 | Ending In "Sesame Street" Characters | #1122 · Jul 7 | 3.8/5 | HARD |
| 8 | What Things Pronounced "T" Might Refer To | #1118 · Jul 3 | 3.7/5 | HARD |
| 9 | Starting With Sports Venues | #1117 · Jul 2 | 3.7/5 | HARD |
| 10 | Slang For Musical Instruments | #1094 · Jun 9 | 3.6/5 | HARD |
Easiest Connections Puzzles of August 2026
The easiest scored puzzle of August was #1174 ("Top Of The ___"), followed closely by #1172 ("Key ___") and #1167 ("Once In A ___").
| # | Easiest category | Puzzle | Score | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Top Of The ___ | #1174 · Aug 28 | 2.0/5 | EASY |
| 2 | Key ___ | #1172 · Aug 26 | 2.1/5 | EASY |
| 3 | Once In A ___ | #1167 · Aug 21 | 2.2/5 | EASY |
| 4 | ___ Girls Of Pop Culture | #1168 · Aug 22 | 2.3/5 | EASY |
| 5 | Starting With Pets | #1163 · Aug 17 | 2.4/5 | MEDIUM |
| 6 | Starting With Male Animals | #1153 · Aug 7 | 2.5/5 | MEDIUM |
| 7 | Famous Goatees | #1156 · Aug 10 | 2.6/5 | MEDIUM |
| 8 | V-Shaped Things | #1150 · Aug 4 | 2.7/5 | MEDIUM |
October puzzles so far. Puzzles #1208 through #1230 join these rankings once their difficulty scores are validated.
Easiest Connections Puzzles of 2026
For 2026 overall, #1046 ("Pick-up ___") has been the easiest puzzle so far, with a run of straightforward fill-in-the-blank groups close behind.
| # | Easiest category | Puzzle | Score | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pick-up ___ | #1046 · Apr 22 | 1.6/5 | EASY |
| 2 | Finger Gestures | #1057 · May 3 | 1.7/5 | EASY |
| 3 | "The ___ Man" Movies | #1093 · Jun 8 | 1.8/5 | EASY |
| 4 | What "MA" Might Refer To | #1099 · Jun 14 | 1.9/5 | EASY |
| 5 | What "W" Might Stand For | #1120 · Jul 5 | 2.0/5 | EASY |
| 6 | What "Shell" Might Refer To | #1141 · Jul 26 | 2.1/5 | EASY |
| 7 | Words Before "Room" To Indicate Extra Space | #1130 · Jul 15 | 2.2/5 | EASY |
| 8 | Places With Nets | #1152 · Aug 6 | 2.3/5 | EASY |
| 9 | SUN___ Words | #1052 · Apr 28 | 2.4/5 | MEDIUM |
| 10 | Starting With Soda Brands | #1042 · Apr 18 | 2.5/5 | MEDIUM |
Connections Difficulty Trend: NYT Ratings, Oct 10 to Oct 23
Across the five October puzzles with a confirmed NYT rating the average was 2.6/5. Today's 3.3 is the highest of the set and #1217 (2.0) the lowest.
Mean score per puzzle
Each point is one puzzle with a confirmed NYT rating, and today's puzzle (Oct 23) is highlighted. Dates in between are puzzles whose rating we could not confirm. The vertical scale runs from 2 to 5.
Fail rates are still pending. Player fail rates for October puzzles appear here once their result samples are validated.
Connections Difficulty by Day of the Week: Is Friday Harder?
Historically, Thursdays have given players the most trouble at 3.1/5 on average, while Mondays have been the smoothest at 2.4. Today is a Friday, which usually lands at 2.7/5. At 3.3, today is 0.6 above that.
How We Rate Connections Difficulty: The Formula
The overall puzzle score is the NYT's own Connections Companion rating out of 5. We score each color group from 1 to 5 on six weighted factors, using the same formula every day, so group scores stay comparable.
| Factor | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Word ambiguity | 25% | How many words have a second common meaning that pulls them into the wrong group. |
| Decoy words | 20% | Whether a word clearly looks like it belongs elsewhere, especially a famous name. |
| Wordplay depth | 20% | Sound-alikes, hidden words and prefixes that ignore word meaning. |
| Outside knowledge | 15% | Brands, trivia or niche terms a player may not know. |
| Overlap between groups | 10% | How many words could sit in two groups at once. |
| Theme familiarity | 10% | How quickly most people can name the theme once they see it. |
Group score = (ambiguity × 0.25) + (decoys × 0.20) + (wordplay × 0.20) + (knowledge × 0.15) + (overlap × 0.10) + (familiarity × 0.10). Each factor is rated from 1 to 5 in half-point steps, and scores are rounded to one decimal.
Worked Example: How Today's Color Groups Were Rated
Factor ratings for each group of puzzle #1230, and the weighted result for each.
| Group | Ambiguity | Decoys | Wordplay | Knowledge | Overlap | Familiarity | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | 3 | 2.5 | 1 | 1 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 2.0 |
| Green | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1.5 | 3 | 1.5 | 2.2 |
| Blue | 2.5 | 3 | 1 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 3 | 2.5 |
| Purple | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4 | 2.5 | 3 | 3.5 | 3.4 |
Overall score: the headline 3.3/5 is the official NYT rating and falls in the Medium+ range (3.2 to 3.5). The group scores above (2.0, 2.2, 2.5 and 3.4) are our editorial view of how the groups compare and are not averaged into the headline. Read more on our difficulty methodology page.
Connections Difficulty Levels Explained: Easy, Medium, Medium+ and Hard
What each overall score range means, so you know what to expect from any puzzle.
Easy
Clear themes and few decoys. Most players finish with one mistake or none.
Medium
One group needs careful thought or a decoy catches you out. Typical of a normal day.
Medium+
Two groups demand wordplay or niche knowledge, and overlap makes the order matter.
Hard
Several tricky groups with heavy overlap. These days are rare and cost players their streaks.
How To Play Today's Connections Based on Its Difficulty
Spoiler-free advice that fits a Medium+ puzzle with one fill-in-the-blank group.
Need a push? Open today's Connections hints and reveal one clue at a time.
Connections Difficulty FAQ: How Scores and Stats Are Measured
Quick answers about today's score, the player statistics and how everything is calculated.
How hard is today's Connections?
Connections #1230 (Friday, October 23, 2026) is rated 3.3 out of 5 by the NYT, which we call Medium+. In our own group breakdown Yellow is the easiest at 2.0 and Purple the trickiest at 3.4.
Which group is hardest in today's Connections?
Purple is the hardest group today at 3.4 out of 5, because the missing word that links the four is never shown and one of the phrases is less familiar.
Is today's Connections easier than yesterday's?
No, it looks harder. Today's puzzle is rated 3.3 out of 5 by the NYT (Medium+). Yesterday's #1229 is our own estimate of 2.7 out of 5, because its official rating was not available.
How do you rate Connections difficulty?
The overall score is the NYT's own Connections Companion rating out of 5. We add an editorial score for each color group on six weighted factors: word ambiguity 25%, decoy words 20%, wordplay depth 20%, outside knowledge 15%, overlap between groups 10% and theme familiarity 10%.
Are these difficulty scores official NYT data?
Only the headline score. It comes from the NYT Connections Companion. Group scores and any estimate we label as ours are editorial ratings, and the mistake distribution and leaderboards use publicly shared result grids.
Where does the combined score come from?
The headline score is the NYT's published rating. Rankings and the mistake distribution come from our validated records and roughly 2,000 publicly shared result grids.
How is the mistake distribution calculated?
The bars come from one internally consistent public-results sample. We do not mix counts from different cohorts, and a fail (all four mistakes used) is tracked separately from a completed solve.
Why a 5-point scale instead of Wordle's 6-point scale?
Wordle's scale mirrors its six allowed guesses. Connections allows four mistakes before a puzzle ends, so we score on a five-point scale. Zero mistakes is the best possible run, and a fail sits at the top of the difficulty range.
What happens if a data source is not available yet?
A public-results source only counts after its collection method and minimum sample size have been validated. Until then, it does not affect the score or distribution.
How often does this page update?
The difficulty score and distribution refresh each day, right after that day's puzzle rolls over. Every page pulls from the same validated daily record, so figures stay consistent across the site.
Does this page use any personal or identifiable data?
No. These figures use aggregate counts calculated from publicly shared result grids. This page does not display usernames, profiles or individual posts.