Categories by Clever Goat
Best for: a direct four-groups-of-four format.
Categories keeps the focus on sorting sixteen entries into four hidden groups and is a natural next stop if you mainly want more category-solving.
Visit CategoriesWORD GROUPING GAMES
Games Like Connections: Daily Word Grouping Games to Try
If the best part of Connections is spotting the hidden relationship between things that look unrelated, you have more games to try. Start with InCommon, PuzzleNook’s daily word grouping puzzle, then explore a few other games that approach the same idea in different ways.
Free to play · New puzzle every day · No account required
PUZZLENOOKInCommon
Find four groups of four.
What should you play if you like Connections?
For the closest PuzzleNook match, try InCommon. You work with sixteen entries and uncover four groups of four by finding what they have in common. The appeal is the same kind of category spotting and misdirection: several combinations can look plausible, but only the intended groups resolve the full board.
If you want the same mental itch with a different structure, games such as Categories, PuzzGrid, Connections Plus and Strands each emphasize a different part of the experience—from pure grouping to theme discovery.
A CLOSE FIT FOR GROUPING FANS
InCommon: four hidden groups, one board
InCommon is a daily word grouping game built around sixteen entries and four concealed relationships. Your job is to sort the board into four groups of four while avoiding convincing decoys.
- Hidden categories: every group is connected by a precise shared relationship.
- Deliberate overlap: apparent pairs and tempting combinations can pull you in the wrong direction.
- Limited mistakes: incorrect submissions cost a life, so committing to a group matters.
- Two ways to play: PuzzleNook includes its standard experience plus a Challenge mode for players who want to solve the board differently.
- A fresh puzzle daily: InCommon is one of six new PuzzleNook puzzles each day.
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MORE TO TRY
Other games like Connections
No two grouping puzzles feel exactly the same. These are useful alternatives depending on which part of the format you enjoy most.
PuzzGrid
Best for: lots of connecting-wall style puzzles.
PuzzGrid offers a large collection of user-created 4×4 grouping walls. Quality varies by puzzle, but the format is especially close to classic connecting-wall solving.
Visit PuzzGridConnections Plus
Best for: more boards and community puzzles.
Connections Plus expands the familiar grouping format with archived and community-made puzzles, making it useful when one daily board is not enough.
Visit Connections PlusStrands
Best for: theme discovery rather than sorting.
Strands is not a grouping game, but it rewards a similar kind of thematic recognition: find related words hidden in a letter grid and identify the theme that ties them together.
Visit StrandsQuick comparison
| Game | Main mechanic | Daily? | Best if you enjoy… |
|---|---|---|---|
| InCommon | Sort 16 entries into 4 hidden groups | Yes | Category spotting, decoys and word relationships |
| Categories | Sort 16 entries into 4 groups | Yes | A very direct grouping challenge |
| PuzzGrid | Solve user-created connecting walls | No fixed limit | Lots of grouping boards |
| Connections Plus | Grouping puzzles and community boards | Yes + archive | More familiar-style boards |
| Strands | Find themed words in a letter grid | Yes | Discovering a hidden theme |
What is a word grouping game?
A word grouping game gives you a mixed set of words, names, phrases or other entries and asks you to identify smaller sets connected by a shared rule. The challenge is usually not knowing what the individual entries mean; it is deciding which relationship the puzzle maker intended.
The best boards use misdirection. A word may seem to belong with several others, a tempting group may contain only three correct members, or four entries may share an obvious connection that is not one of the final categories. That tension is what turns a simple sorting task into a deduction puzzle.
QUICK QUESTIONS
Games like Connections: FAQs
Is InCommon free?
Yes. PuzzleNook can be played without an account, with free daily plays available across all six games.
Is InCommon the same as Connections?
No. InCommon is an original PuzzleNook game with its own interface, modes and puzzle construction. It shares the broad word-grouping genre: finding hidden relationships among a mixed set of entries.
What skills do word grouping games use?
They mainly reward pattern recognition, vocabulary, general knowledge, lateral thinking and the ability to resist plausible decoys until the whole board makes sense.
Does PuzzleNook have other daily word games?
Yes. PuzzleNook publishes six daily puzzles: Six to Five, One and the Same, InCommon, Daily Crossword, Unscrumble and Every Last Letter.
READY FOR ANOTHER GROUP?
Try today’s InCommon
Sixteen entries. Four hidden groups. See what belongs together.
More daily puzzles at PuzzleNook
InCommon is one of six new puzzles waiting each day. If grouping is not enough, PuzzleNook also includes five-letter deduction, a quick crossword, clue-based guessing, connected-letter word finding and a word-building challenge.
See today’s six puzzles