Looking for today's Connections answer for puzzle 216 on January 12, which continues to get harder as the week goes on.

We update our Connections hints and tips every day. And if the hints aren't enough, you can see all four answers along with the category title and related words. In addition, for those of you reading this in a different time zone, I've included a reflection on yesterday's puzzle 215.

There are spoilers for Connection 216. Please only read this if you want to know the answer to today's connection.

Unlike today's Wordle answer guide, which recommends the best wordle starting words as a strategy, solving Connections requires you to identify the categories that are connected from the 16 words. The difficulty of each category is represented by a color, with yellow being the easiest grouping and purple the most difficult. Hints will help as the answer is displayed after four wrong guesses.

If you need a hint to solve the groupings, here are each theme in order of difficulty:

These hints should at least help you find the answer to today's connection. If not, please continue reading for larger hints. Also, if you just want the answer, scroll down further.

Now, here's a bigger hint. You might glance at the words in today's connection and think about furniture. But put that thought on hold and instead consider other uses for Table.

So here is the answer to today's connection in game 216.

Drum roll, please.

Given that it's Wild Card weekend, when the NFL begins its playoff frenzy leading up to the Super Bowl, it seems natural to immediately recognize the American football theme. But just as a quarterback is sacked the moment he scores a touchdown, I was stopped in my tracks as "tackle," "run," "pass," and "center" were not even close.

Then I looked at Safety and End and decided that these categories could not simply be gridiron terms, they had to be specific positions. Pass and Run went out and were replaced by my new found two, and sure enough, the blue category was complete and my arms were held high.

Then I noticed Punt. I tried pass, run, and hold alongside, but I wasn't convinced. And I was right.

The next thing that caught my eye was the table and chairs. Is this some kind of furniture theme? But considering another definition of Chair, Direct and Lead soon merged, and so did Run's house.

Two more with two lives left; Pass, Ticket, and Badge matched up nicely. These are the items needed for entry. Using the verb "to invite" as a noun (invitation) is a minor annoyance of mine, but it ties in with Invite. So, let's get to it.

Hold, stall, punt, and table remain, with the last purple category postponed. With two lives remaining and no need for a Hail Mary Pass, I selected and submitted for a successful game.

You are reading this late in the day. According to Connections Companion, the difficulty was 3.4 out of 5.

As with yesterday's Connections, I discovered that Issue, Matter, Point, and Subject are all Topics of Discussion and enjoyed a quick start. It seems my poor efforts at the Debate Club finally paid off.

Next, I found Read and Chapter and was convinced that I should tackle some sort of book topic. Not for the first time, however, I followed the wrong line of reasoning and moved on to something else.

Period drama. Chorus. Throw in the word Stage and it certainly seemed to have some sort of performance theme. Unfortunately, here again I was reading the wrong script.

Finally, when I connected Period and Phase, it hit me. Then I added Stage and Chapter, clearing the way to complete the green category: the Life section.

I thought of Tank and Blew together, along the lines of failure (blew it, tanked it, etc.), which was ironic from this perspective. Still a little unconvinced, I added a shock and a dash and somehow managed to get it down to a single point. Then, like a jumper cable, it hit me. I removed Blew and replaced it with Wheel, completing the blue category.

The remaining four were Blew, Choral, Read, and Rows, which took a little while to resolve until I tried reading them aloud. After that, I basked in the beautiful hues of victory.

Connections rely heavily on guesswork and general knowledge, and there is no way to know which word (or words) are not in the grouping you guessed. If even one wrong word is included, the game will tell you so.

To win a connection, you should look carefully at all 16 words before making your first guess. Are there words that have more than one meaning than they are pronounced? Are there words that have more than one meaning? Are there any words that are part of a larger phrase?

Often, the first answer that jumps out at you may be intentionally misleading you. Therefore, identifying possible five-word categories is a good strategy to start with. Bookmark it and come back to it after you have solved one or two other categories, and it should help you figure out which of the five words belong in another category.

Most connection categories are not as obvious as they might seem. Editors typically use phrases, puns, and other tricky topics that require thought. If you get stuck on a category, cycle through each word in the grid and brainstorm possible categories to which the word might apply.

Connections is a category matching game and was released in beta on June 12, 2023. It was then officially added to the NYT Games app (iOS and Android) on August 28, 2023. The app allows users to play the daily New York Times crossword and the ultra-popular Wordle game. However, access to the crossword requires a paid subscription, while Wordle and Connections are free to play.

In Connections, you are presented with 16 words and must group them into four four-word categories. Often there are words or seemingly five-word categories intended to mislead you. Your goal is to group the words appropriately without going beyond four guesses; if you cannot solve the puzzle within four attempts, you have failed and the answer will be revealed.

NYT Connection Puzzles will be available daily. Games are updated at midnight local time on your device.

Connections can be played on the New York Times Game App available for iOS/iPadOS and Android. If you are using a computer or device browser, you can access NYT Connections online here.