The New York Times’ Connections puzzle for September 12, 2026 offers a manageable challenge for players with an interest in automobiles. This popular word-matching game tasks participants with identifying common threads that link groups of four words from a selection of 16 total options. Like its counterpart Wordle, Connections refreshes daily after midnight, with progressively more complex word combinations designed to challenge solvers.
Created with assistance from associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu, Connections has gained significant traction as a social media phenomenon. The game is accessible through both web browsers and mobile devices, allowing players to rearrange the board layout for easier pattern recognition. Each puzzle consists of four distinct categories color-coded by difficulty level, ranging from yellow as the easiest to purple as the most challenging. Players have a maximum of four incorrect guesses before the game concludes.
Today’s puzzle includes four thematic groupings: automobile customization options, types of internet discussion forum participants, objects that produce blinking effects, and phrases completed with a second word. Successfully identifying all four words within a category removes them from the board. Upon completion, participants can share their results on social media platforms.
The complete solutions for puzzle #1189 reveal categories featuring bumper stickers and vanity plates, forum lurkers and trolls, blinking cursors and turn signals, and common alert types including weather and spoiler variations.
