The New York Times Connections
The New York Times Connections

The New York Times' Connections puzzle for Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, mixes everyday online habits with clever wordplay. A pair of movie-related words is designed to trip up players.

The puzzle is Connections game No. 1,251. Players must sort 16 words into four groups of four based on what they have in common. Each group is color-coded by difficulty, from yellow (easiest) to green, blue and purple (hardest).

Players can make four mistakes before the game ends.

Today's 16 words

The words in Friday's puzzle are:

PRESS, BARGE, SCROLL, WATER SKIER, SURF, TEASER, WAVES, TRAILER, TRUST, EXPOSURE, SEARCH, FREEZE, COVERAGE, GLIDER, PUBLICITY and BROWSE.

The movie-preview trap

Friday's main red herring involves TEASER and TRAILER, both terms for short previews of upcoming films. Many players may be tempted to group them together, but they belong in different categories.

Water-related words such as SURF, WAVES and WATER SKIER may also lead players to look for an ocean theme that does not exist.

Hints for each group

For players who want help without seeing the answers:

Yellow: Things you do when you go online. Green: Ways something gets noticed by the public. Blue: Things that need to be pulled behind something else. Purple: Each word can follow a body part found inside your head.

Spoiler warning: The answers are below.

Today's Connections answers

Yellow — USE THE INTERNET: BROWSE, SCROLL, SEARCH, SURF

These are common verbs for navigating the web. "Surfing the internet" is an older expression for browsing online.

Green — MEDIA ATTENTION: COVERAGE, EXPOSURE, PRESS, PUBLICITY

Each word describes attention from news outlets or the public.

Blue — THINGS THAT ARE TOWED: BARGE, GLIDER, TRAILER, WATER SKIER

Barges are towed by tugboats, gliders by airplanes, trailers by cars or trucks, and water skiers by boats.

Purple — BRAIN ___: FREEZE, TEASER, TRUST, WAVES

Each word forms a common phrase when it follows "brain":

Brain freeze: the sudden headache from eating something cold too quickly. Brain teaser: a puzzle or riddle. Brain trust: a group of expert advisers. Brain waves: patterns of electrical activity in the brain.

Why the puzzle was tricky

TEASER and TRAILER split into different groups: TEASER belongs to the "brain ___" category, while TRAILER joins the towed items.

SURF looks like a water word but fits with internet activities. WAVES, another water word, ends up in the purple group as part of "brain waves."

PRESS could also seem to fit several groups, such as a verb for pushing a button, but here it means the news media.

Tips for solving Connections

Puzzle experts recommend several strategies:

Look for decoys. Connections often includes words that seem to form an obvious group but are spread across categories. Solve the easiest group first. Clearing the yellow group can make the harder ones easier to see. Try adding words. Purple categories often involve words that combine with another word to form a phrase. Use the shuffle button. Rearranging the board can help reveal new patterns.

About Connections

The New York Times launched Connections in 2023, and it has become one of the most popular games in The New York Times Games lineup. The puzzle is edited by Wyna Liu.

A new puzzle is released each day at midnight local time.

Connections game No. 1,252 will be released Saturday, Nov. 14.