Categories — Free Daily Grouping Puzzle
Sixteen words. Four hidden groups. Four mistakes.
Categories is a free daily grouping puzzle: sixteen words, four hidden themes, four mistakes allowed. The trap is that several words fit more than one group, so the obvious set is rarely the right one. It is free, works without an account, and a new grid is published every day at 00:00 UTC — with an expert 5x5 grid for Pro members.
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Rules
Sixteen words on the board split into four hidden groups of four. Pick any four tiles you think share a theme, then hit Submit.
Get all four right and the group locks in with a color — yellow is the easiest, purple is the trickiest (often wordplay).
Miss and you spend one of four mistakes. If exactly three of your four are in the same group, you'll see a "one away" hint.
Solve every group before you run out of mistakes. A new daily puzzle drops at 00:00 UTC.
How to play Categories
- 1You are shown sixteen words in a 4x4 grid.
- 2Select four words you believe share a hidden theme and submit them.
- 3A correct group locks in and reveals its category name; a wrong group costs one of your four lives.
- 4Solve all four groups before running out of mistakes.
- 5Expert mode adds a fifth group and a 5x5 grid for Pro members.
Categories strategy
Solve the group you are least excited about first
Puzzle setters build one deliberately obvious group and seed it with a word that belongs elsewhere. The category you spot last is usually the cleanest, so submitting it first protects your lives.
Count candidates, not confidence
If you can name five or six words that fit a theme, you have not found the theme — you have found the decoy. A real group has exactly four candidates and no more.
Look for the mechanical category
One group is often not semantic at all: words that all precede the same word, all hide a smaller word, or all become new words with a letter added. Scanning for structure rather than meaning breaks most hard grids.
Categories vs NYT Connections
Same core idea, a few practical differences if you play daily.
| Categories | Connections | |
|---|---|---|
| Grid | 4x4 daily, plus 5x5 expert mode | 4x4 only |
| Mistakes allowed | Four | Four |
| Practice | Unlimited practice grids | One a day |
| Archive | Last 30 days | Subscription |
Categories — frequently asked questions
What is Categories?
Categories is a free daily word grouping puzzle. Sixteen words hide four themed groups of four, and your job is to separate them.
How do you play Categories?
Tap four words that share a theme and submit. Correct groups lock in; incorrect ones cost a life. You have four mistakes to spare.
Is Categories free to play?
Yes, the daily grid is free with no account. The 5x5 expert grid and the archive are Pro features.
Is Categories the same as Connections?
It follows the same grouping format but with independently written puzzles, a practice mode and an expert five-group variant.
How often does the puzzle change?
A new grid is published daily at 00:00 UTC and is the same for every player.
Why do some words seem to fit two groups?
That overlap is intentional. Each puzzle plants at least one word that fits an obvious group but belongs to a harder one, which is why solving the least obvious group first is the safer opening.
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