Players of the NYT Connections game were left fiercely divided over the October 16 puzzle.
The game sees people attempt to divide 16 words into four groups that share some sort of connection.
It has soared in popularity in recent months, and every day, thousands across the globe log on to put their skills to the test to solve the difficult word puzzle.
Afterwards, many then take to social media to share their results and compare how quickly they were able to figure it out with others.
But on Wednesday, people on the web seemed completely split about the puzzle – with some calling it ‘quick’ and ‘easy’ and others branding it as ‘impossible’ and ‘challenging.’
Players of the NYT Connections game were left fiercely divided over the October 16 puzzle – with some calling it ‘quick’ and ‘easy’ and others branding it as ‘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 some future point, parts of a tournament setup, bits of breakfast cereal, and what the outstretched index and middle fingers can represent.
The first group contained various different ways to describe a time in the near future, including eventually, later, next, and soon.
The second was made up of different terms relating to sporting events, like bracket, bye, round, and seed.
The third category in the October 16 puzzle had four words that had to do with famous cereals – including Cheerio, flake, pebble, puff – while the final group was made up of words that holding up two fingers can represent, like peace, scissors, two, and victory.
Numerous players took to Reddit to share their thoughts about the puzzle after completing it, and many admitted that they were confused about some of the answers.
‘Somebody help me please. I don’t understand [the last category] at all,’ one user wrote.
‘And what do these things have to do with a tournament? It makes no sense to me.’
The game sees people attempt to divide 16 words into four groups that share some sort of connection
The four categories for Wednesday were: at some future point, parts of a tournament setup, bits of breakfast cereal, and what the outstretched index and middle fingers can represent
‘How does “bye” fit into that category?’ asked another person.
‘I think it’s like if your opponent doesn’t show up you get a “bye” into the next round,’ a different user explained.
‘Personally, I’m not too familiar with the term “bye” when it comes to a tournament,’ confessed someone else.
‘I have no idea about cereal brands because it’s not a thing where I’m from,’ read a fourth angry comment. ‘Also did not know “bye” used that way.’
‘I have never even heard of a Cheerio,’ a sixth, posted by someone who resides in New Zealand, said.
‘I’m thoroughly confused by the mix of brands and types [in the cereal category],’ admitted a different person.
‘Puffs, flakes, and pebbles are all types of cereal made by any brand whereas Cheerios is an actual brand.’
‘I ruled out Cheerio as a cereal because it’s a specific brand and there’s no way they’d use a brand name mixed in with a bunch of generic types of cereal,’ another frustrated player wrote.
They then branded the game as ‘discriminatory’ because it often includes sports-related categories.
Numerous players took to Reddit to share their thoughts about the puzzle after completing it, and many admitted that they were confused about some of the answers
One person even accused the creators of being ‘discriminatory’ with one of the answers
Others, however, defended the October 16 puzzle
Just one day prior, one of the categories was football positions.
‘I’m starting to think this game is discriminatory against people who don’t consume sports,’ they continued.
‘I don’t know what a seed is and I really don’t care enough to look it up.’
Others, however, defended the October 16 puzzle.
‘Discriminatory is such a harsh and frankly incorrect word here,’ someone else fired back.
‘I had problems with green too but I just don’t know sports trivia – I don’t hold that against this game in particular.’
‘Quick, easy,’ another user wrote, while a third added, ‘I really enjoyed this puzzle. Challenging, but solvable.’
‘Pretty straightforward,’ a different person praised.
Connections, which launched last year, is the New York Times’ second most popular game behind Wordle.
Everdeen Mason, the editorial director of the Times’s Games section, told Vox earlier this year that she was unbothered by ‘cranky’ players who get frustrated with how difficult it is.
‘My job here is to trick you,’ she confessed at the time.
