Today’s NYT Connections clues and answers for January 12, #581

Looking for that Latest Answers to connections? Click here for today’s Connections notesas well as our daily answers and tips for New York Times mini crosswords, word puzzles and Strands puzzles.

---

Bet I recognized these video games in today’s NYT Connections puzzle? But of course, the editors had to include a red herring instead that fell into the always tricky purple category. Did you play Atari today? Read on for today’s Connections hints and answers.

The Times now has a Connections Botlike that for Wordle. After playing, go there to get a numerical score and have the program analyze your answers. And players registered in the Times Games section can now freak out by tracking their progressincluding the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they achieved a perfect score, and their winning streak.

Read more: Hints, tips and strategies to help you succeed at NYT Connections every time

Notes for today’s Connections groups

Here are four clues for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ordered from the easiest yellow group to the difficult (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group note: Not real

Green group clue: Kiss-kiss

Blue Group Clue: Like Pac-Man

Purple Group Clue: Dogs wag at them

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Manufacturing

Green Group: Woo

Blue Group: Classic Atari Games

Purple Group: Things with tails

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here are the most popular letters used in English words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The topic is manufacturing. The four answers are fairy tale, fantasy, fiction and invention.

The green words in today’s connections

The theme is woo. The four answers are charm, court, pursuit, romance.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is classic Atari games. The four answers are Asteroids, Breakout, Centipede and Defender.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The topic is things with tails. The four answers are Coin Flip, Comet, Tailcoat and Sonic the Hedgehog.