Hey fellow game fans! Today I’m reviewing something a lot of people keep talking about at game nights: Connections. Now, before you grab your wallet or start picking teams, let me give you the full scoop based on my own raucous sessions with friends, some impromptu rule bickering, and more than one shout of “Wait, how are these words even related?” Spoiler: I had fun, but I’ve got opinions about how skill and luck mash together, and if this one is going to last at your table. Let’s see if Connections connects with you—or if it should stay on the shelf.
How It Plays
Setting Up
Grab the Connections cards and lay them out in a grid. Make sure everyone has a clear look. You don’t need chips, boards, or any fancy tokens. Just your brains and maybe a snack.
Gameplay
Players work together (or compete in teams) to group words from the grid into sets of four that share a connection. You all discuss, argue, and maybe Google the meaning of ‘ameliorate’ if it shows up (it shouldn’t). Each correct group gets set aside, making the grid smaller. If you mess up, you usually get limited tries before someone starts yelling, “But that’s not a fruit!”
Winning the Game
You win if you find all four correct connections before running out of lives (or if your friends don’t flip the table in frustration). It’s not about speed—it’s about finding the weird links between words. Celebrate your genius, or vow revenge on whoever grouped ‘apple’ with ‘car’ because “they’re both things I saw today.”
Want to know more? Read our extensive strategy guide for Connections.
Understanding How the Rules Shape the Game in Connections
Connections has this lovely rulebook that’s both a blessing and a curse. You get four groups of cards, each with words or phrases. Your job: sort these cards into four groups of four, each with a sneaky theme. This might sound simple, but if your friends are as chaotic as mine, you’ll see how quickly things get heated. The rules say you only get four chances to guess all four groups right, and trust me, those guesses run out faster than donuts at my last board game night.
We had a brief argument about whether “chip” belonged with “potato,” “paint,” or “shoulder.” Connections loves a card with more than one meaning, just to keep everyone on their toes (and sometimes at each other’s throats). The rules are clear on what counts as a group. They want exact matches, not “sorta close enough.” If you make a mistake, you get to see which cards are correct, but not what the group is. That almost makes it trickier, because overconfident people (looking at you, Tom) will latch onto the wrong matches all round.
There’s almost no luck here, unless you count the luck of having someone in the group who’s cracked the New York Times crossword every day since 1988. The rules demand you work together, but also punish wild guesses. Anyone who thinks they can brute-force their way through is in for a rough time. And if one person keeps making the wrong connections (sorry for the pun), you’ll hear about it for weeks.
Next up, we’re talking about the real chaos: Player interaction and why this game might ruin your group chat forever.
How Player Interaction Shapes Every Round in Connections
Let me tell you, Connections is the kind of game that can make friends into rivals and then back into friends all in one evening. Forget those board games where you silently move pieces around and try not to make eye contact. In Connections, you simply can’t win without throwing yourself into the group dynamic. If you ever wanted to see who in your friend group is secretly a mastermind—or who thinks Lady Gaga sang “Bohemian Rhapsody”—this is the game for you.
Each round, everyone at the table starts guessing which words go together. The magic (and chaos) of Connections comes from constant chatter, wild theories, and bold declarations. I once saw my friend Jenny try to convince the table that “ice cream” and “mountain” belonged in the same set. To this day, no one knows why. There’s no room for a “lone wolf” because teamwork, group logic, and convincing your pals are all baked into the rules. If you want to win—trust me—you need to talk, listen, and maybe even bribe someone with snacks.
But beware, Connections can expose some personality quirks. There’s always that one person who never listens (looking at you, Dave), and the one who agrees with everyone, even when it makes no sense. The game works best with loud, chatty groups who love to guess and debate. If you like a quiet gaming experience, you might want to invite a different crowd. Next up: we’ll see if Connections is ruled by sharp minds or if the fickle finger of fate does all the work—yes, we’re talking balance of luck versus skill!
Luck or Skill? Finding the Sweet Spot in Connections
Let’s get honest: when it comes to balance, some board games are pure chaos, like watching cats chase laser pointers. So, how does Connections hold up on the great skill-versus-luck scale? Well, I sat down with my usual merry crew—my cousin Mike (famous for overthinking every clue), my neighbor Tina (queen of wild guesses), and my dog Rex (who mostly just chews the cards)—to put it to the test.
Connections is all about making logical leaps. You look at a board full of words and try to spot groups with something in common. Think “fruits,” “famous dogs,” or “things I forget at the grocery store.” If you’re sharp and can spot patterns, you’ll do well. But here’s the catch: the categories sometimes get pretty obscure. More than once, we spent ten minutes arguing if “pear” and “peach” should go together or if “Pear” was just there for giggles. We had debates that went deeper than my last relationship.
Yes, if you’re good at word games, you have an edge. But you’re not safe from the odd curveball, like when the designer throws in a sneaky pop culture reference from 1972. Victory sometimes comes from a lucky guess. In my experience, skill matters more than luck, but a newcomer can, every so often, make a glorious guess and shock the table. That means Connections feels fairer than most party games—but expect some surprise wins now and then.
Next, I’ll tackle the burning question of replay value and whether Connections can last longer than my old gym membership. Stay tuned!
Staying Power and Playtime in Connections
One thing I always look for in a board game is whether I actually want to play it again. Some games have the replay value of an old banana. But Connections? It’s more like a bottomless snack bowl: people keep reaching for more.
Every round, you get a fresh set of word cards and totally different group vibes. No two Connections games feel the same. If you’re playing with my cousin Dave, who thinks everything connects to cheese, you’ll get very odd rounds. But that’s kind of the point—unexpected links and arguments make every game different. There’s a sneaky bit of creativity under the surface too. People find bizarre patterns I’d never think of, and sometimes I find myself googling words after the game just to see if someone was telling the truth.
Game session length is a sweet spot. Most of our games last from 15 to 25 minutes. You can play a quick round before pizza arrives or chain three games together for a whole evening’s fun. There’s no endless rules-talking, which is great if, like me, you get distracted by snacks.
I recommend Connections for families, work teams, and friend groups who like to debate and laugh. If you’re looking for deep strategy, maybe look elsewhere. But if you want lively, quick games that break the ice and get everyone talking, I say go for it. Just make sure Dave isn’t on your team. Unless you really, really like cheese.
Conclusion
That wraps up my review of Connections! After plenty of rounds with my (loud, competitive, and snack-loving) friends, I can say this game brings clever thinking, tense teamwork, and a lot of laughs. It’s mostly skill-based, with just a bit of luck. The rounds are bite-sized, so no one’s falling asleep at the table. There’s a ton of replay value too. Still, if you hate group debates or want something with deep strategy, this might bug you. But if you like shouting at your pals about whether “apple” fits with “car” (it doesn’t, Dave), it’s a winner. Give it a whirl for your next game night!
