Today’s Connections hint and answer on 30th June for 385

If a sorting-word puzzle proves a little too taxing for a lazy Sunday, then we can help with the Connections answer for today, 30th June.

If you haven't played it before, Connections challenges you to sort a group of 16 words into four groups where all of the words are well... connected. This connection could come from them sharing a similar meaning, being part of a place name, objects found in a kitchen or anything at all really!

While this may sound easy, the Connection groups each have a different level of difficulty - with Yellow being the easiest and Purple being the hardest. For this reason, working out today's Connection answer might be rather tricky. You may get one group straight away, but another might be a mystery to you. Thankfully we're here to help!

Originally developed during The New York Times game department's annual game jam, the beta version of Connections was released in June 2023. Since then it has become one of the most popular games The NYTimes has to offer, only beaten by Worlde. Though some connections have been made to the BBC's Only Connect program...

Hint for today's Connections answer

Instead of jumping straight to the answer, let's start with some hints for today's Connections puzzle:

• Yellow - Old expressions.
• Green - Materials used to light a grill.
• Blue - Different trees.
• Purple - Elements found in a hot tub.
• Maxim belongs in the Yellow group, Charcoal in Green, and Ebony in Blue.

Remember - Yellow is the easiest group to find followed by Green and Blue, with Purple being the hardest set of words to connect.

Connection words for 30th June

Here's the words included in today's Connections puzzle - see if the clues above help you form a connection before we visit today's answer:

Ash	Electric	Saw	Jet
Gas	Chestnut	Filter	Gum
Ebony	Maxim	Wood	Heater
Pump	Cherry	Charcoal	Adage

Connections answer for 30th June

Without further ado, here's the Connections answer for today:

• Old Saying - Adage, Chestnut, Maxim, Saw.
• Grill Fuel Sources - Charcoal, Electric, Gas, Wood.
• Trees - Ash, Cherry, Ebony, Gum.
• Hot Tub Components - Filter, Heater, Jet, Pump.

Today's Connections puzzle came with quite fun groups for us to find. The first one I found was the Green one, although I lost one try since the first time I tried grouping Charcoal, Electric, Gas, and Heater. But three tries were enough for me to then find the Blue Group and the Purple one. I wish I could have found the Yellow group first but it seems like I need to update my vocabulary with a few old sayings.

What to play after Connections?

The obvious answer to this question is Wordle, but, if you've already solved that today, then The New York Times does offer other games. When it comes to word-based games, The NYTimes has the Mini Crossword, Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed and Strands, which is still in its beta phase. If you fancy a break from words, then you can also try Tiles - a motif matching game - or Sudoku.

Outside of The NYTimes, there's Semantle - where you have to reach the secret word by guessing its meaning. Spelling doesn't count in Semantle, instead you have to pay attention to the numerical value your guesses have to chart your path to the answer. If you'd prefer to keep to the Connections format, however, then it's worth visiting Puzzgrid. Here you'll find hundreds of Connections-style puzzles, the twist, however, is that you only have three minutes to solve them.

(You can also just watch Only Connect on BBC iPlayer...)

If you're in a reading mood, then we've discussed why The NYTimes Mini Crossword is a reliable joy and interviewed Jonathan Knight, Head of Games for The NYTimes.

Good luck solving today's Connections!