Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1249) - today's words

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• SHREDDER
• HERBAL
• PATOOT
• WHOOPIE CUSHION
• GREEN
• FOLK
• BUBBLE
• ROUGH
• AFTERNOON
• RHEOSTATS
• TRADITIONAL
• TIRE
• SAND TRAP
• HOLISTIC
• AIR MATTRESS
• TEE BOX

NYT Connections today (game #1249) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Remedies
• GREEN: As seen across 18 holes
• BLUE: Blow these up
• PURPLE: Back to front in the end

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1249) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: KINDS OF MEDICINE
• GREEN: PARTS OF A GOLF COURSE
• BLUE: THINGS FILLED WITH AIR
• PURPLE: ENDING IN PALINDROMES

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1249) - the answers

The answers to today's Connections, game #1249, are…

• YELLOW: KINDS OF MEDICINE: FOLK, HERBAL, HOLISTIC, TRADITIONAL
• GREEN: PARTS OF A GOLF COURSE: GREEN, ROUGH, SAND TRAP, TEE BOX
• BLUE: THINGS FILLED WITH AIR: AIR MATTRESS, BUBBLE, TIRE, WHOOPIE CUSHION
• PURPLE: ENDING IN PALINDROMES: AFTERNOON, PATOOT, RHEOSTATS, SHREDDER

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 mistakes

Like a typical English person I fell hook, line and sinker for what I thought was a nice collection of four tiles connected by tea — GREEN, HERBAL, BUBBLE and AFTERNOON.

Shocked that this quartet didn’t even give me a “one away” pop up, I decided BUBBLE must be something to do with blowing, but instead of TIRE I started off with PATOOT, even though I had no idea what a PATOOT was; I was imagining it was something you inflate. I’m still not entirely sure what it is, to be honest.

My one piece of halfway-decent gameplay was spotting the palindromes, but by then it was far too late to feel good about myself.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, November 10, 2026, game #1248)

• YELLOW: HUBBUB: BROUHAHA, FOOFARAW, HULLABALOO, KERFUFFLE
• GREEN: LITERARY DEVICES: HYPERBOLE, METONYMY, ONOMATOPOEIA, OXYMORON
• BLUE: OLD-TIMEY OCCUPATIONS: APOTHECARY, HABERDASHER, SCRIVENER, WAINWRIGHT
• PURPLE: WORDS WITH FIVE OF ONE VOWEL: ABRACADABRA, BEEKEEPER, INVISIBILITY, PROTOZOOLOGY

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #983) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #983) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• SPECIES
• MUSSEL
• LORE
• PUSH
• QUART
• SOUP
• CARTING
• SCAR

NYT Strands today (game #983) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #983) - hint #4 - spangram position

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #983) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #983, are…

• LATS
• OBLIQUES
• BICEPS
• PECS
• QUADS
• HAMSTRINGS
• SPANGRAM: MUSCLEGROUP

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 hint

It wasn't immediately obvious to me what we were looking for here — even though I’d spotted “muscle” (and mussel) during my search for non-game words. So, when I was given the letters S-T-A-L as a hint, I connected them as “last” before seeing LATS.

My ignorance dismissed, I was able to find the remaining MUSCLEGROUP words without any further difficulty.

Rather like with some people and countries I would struggle to tell you where the OBLIQUES were on the human anatomy. My guess is that if Morocco is your head they would be somewhere between Gabon and Kenya.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Tuesday, November 10, game #982)

• VLOG
• SKIT
• REACTION
• DEMO
• REVIEW
• TUTORIAL
• SPANGRAM: CONTENTCREATOR

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1752) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1752) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1752) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1752) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1752) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1752) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1752, are…

• OVERT
• SOLAR
• REVEL
• BRAVO

I very nearly destroyed my win streak with a silly error.

It’s always wise to check before submitting a guess, but I realized too late that I’d entered a letter in the same wrong place twice when playing TROVE.

Fortunately, I wriggled out of a tight spot by making correct guesses on the final two turns.

Daily Sequence today (game #1752) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1752, are…

• HATER
• CRICK
• FIERY
• THIRD

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1751, Tuesday, 10 November: SHIRE, DOPEY, FICUS, RIDGE
• Quordle #1750, Monday, 9 November: UNMET, SINEW, NADIR, VOGUE
• Quordle #1749, Sunday, 8 November: GREED, SPINE, STONY, OPIUM
• Quordle #1748, Saturday, 7 November: PROUD, ROCKY, FLAKY, MONTH
• Quordle #1747, Friday, 6 November: CHARD, THORN, COVER, OUTER
• Quordle #1746, Thursday, 5 November: SHINE, TAROT, VERGE, LANKY
• Quordle #1745, Wednesday, 4 November: JOIST, CROOK, DELAY, ICILY
• Quordle #1744, Tuesday, 3 November: TRIAL, STAID, LEVEL, BONUS
• Quordle #1743, Monday, 2 November: EXTRA, AMITY, LUPUS, EAGLE
• Quordle #1742, Sunday, 1 November: DROVE, PRIED, SHELL, BEGIN
• Quordle #1741, Saturday, 31 October: ANIME, SWARM, CHALK, RAJAH
• Quordle #1740, Friday, 30 October: ULCER, DIMLY, BRAIN, BEGUN
• Quordle #1739, Thursday, 29 October: PRUDE, MINUS, SAVOY, USHER
• Quordle #1738, Wednesday, 28 October: DEALT, FLUME, SLEEK, RELIC
• Quordle #1737, Tuesday, 27 October: ANKLE, HAVOC, SULKY, WHITE
• Quordle #1736, Monday, 26 October: ASSAY, GLEAM, MUCUS, WRING
• Quordle #1735, Sunday, 25 October: RAINY, BUSED, PROXY, UNDID
• Quordle #1734, Saturday, 24 October: TOXIN, SMART, MOUSE, STYLE
• Quordle #1733, Friday, 23 October: BLIMP, HOIST, FRIED, LURID
• Quordle #1732, Thursday, 22 October: DECAL, WIDTH, WOKEN, LEVER

• Hitman World of Assassination senior level designer Martin Ansdal shares the process of getting YouTuber Jacksepticeye on board for his Elusive Target mission
• Ansdal says Jacksepticeye "immediately gave us carte blanche to make him as evil as we wanted"
• He adds that "I’d like to think we matched his energy and went all in"

Hitman World of Assassination's latest Elusive Target mission stars YouTuber Jacksepticeye, and he allowed IO Interactive to make his character, Finn Colton, "as evil as we wanted."

That's according to senior level designer Martin Ansdal, who discussed the behind-the-scenes creation of the Elusive Target missions in an interview with TechRadar Gaming. The developer said Seán William McLoughlin, aka Jacksepticeye, "seemed genuinely excited" about starring in 'The Host,' since it's a franchise he grew up with, and permitted the team to go as wild as possible with his character.

Jacksepticeye "immediately gave us carte blanche to make him as evil as we wanted and complete freedom in designing the signature eliminations," Ansdal said. "Some celebrities are understandably a little concerned when they see themselves in the context of the game, but Seán was asking us specifically to push it further. I’d like to think we matched his energy and went all in."

For this Elusive Target mission, Ansdal revealed that the team flew to the Brighton office to meet with Séan "very early in development," which also meant "he had a lot more input on the mission design."

"He added a lot of small touches, including the beeping sound the content creator cameras make when they’re remotely activated," the developer said. "There is a very dark scene in the mission where Finn Colton 'looksmaxxes' while watching his old audition tapes. For this we had to get Seán to voice act as a child, which was a lot funnier behind the scenes than the horror of the in-game moment suggests."

For these specific missions, the senior level designer explained that this is a collaboration between him and the writer, as each Hitman mission has a branching narrative and several creative elimination opportunities, as well as "a vast ambient script to make sure the mission supports player freedom and replay."

"Usually we only do one recording session with the celebrity, so we optimize their script heavily and let the supporting cast fill out any gaps," he said.

Ansdal continued, saying he was "incredibly impressed with Seán’s performance given that he is not a traditional actor," and he is "incredibly affable and charming," as he is used to "projecting that through the screen in his videos, which is a kind of performance in itself."

"We tried to empathize that quality in his script cause we felt that would give the best result," he added.

• Secretlab announces the ErgoArch Monitor Light Bar Add-On, launching today
• The desk light is designed to pair with the Secretlab Magnus Monitor Arm
• The light bar offers a three-point adjustment arm that unlocks a wider and more precise range of adjustments for "unmatched versatility"

Secretlab has announced the ErgoArch Monitor Light Bar Add-On, a new ergonomic, elevated overhead desk light "designed for unmatched versatility."

"Good desk lighting helps reduce monitor glare and eye strain over long hours," Secretlab said. "But the amount of light you need and its positioning changes with what you’re doing. Yet, conventional monitor light bars offer limited control over both. They also sit on top of your monitor, restricting their range of adjustments."

Designed to attach magnetically to the Secretlab Magnus Monitor Arm, the new Secretlab ErgoArch Monitor Light Bar solves this issue by offering a flexible three-point adjustment arm, unlocking a wider and more precise range of adjustments for "unmatched versatility."

Compatible with any VESA-mounted screen, the desk light also features a full spectrum of brightness and temperature options and "delivers the right light setting for every position, activity, and mood."

The light bar's elevated position and asymmetrical optical design deliver light across your entire workspace by directing it downward and away from the screen, which minimizes reflections and glare while balancing brightness contrast between your display and workspace for more comfortable viewing.

Alongside Magnus Monitor Arm compatibility, the light bar includes a magnetic webcam mount attachment that keeps your display unobstructed, as well as immersive RGB ambient lighting powered by Nanoleaf, with access to 16.8 million color combinations. Lighting can be fine-tuned via a dedicated wireless controller and the Nanoleaf Smart App for quick access or the Nanoleaf Smart App.

The Secretlab ErgoArch Monitor Light Bar Add-On launches today, November 10, and is available at Secretlab.

• Original Mass Effect composer Jack Wall shares how orchestral and synth music influenced the first two games
• Wall says 70s and 80s music were a big inspiration and explains how Mass Effect was "less orchestra" and "more synthetic," while Mass Effect 2 had more orchestra
• He reveals that BioWare made 'Vigil' the main music track right before shipping the game

Original Mass Effect composer Jack Wall has revealed how orchestral and synth music influenced the series and how the iconic 'Vigil' track changed the game for the better.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming, Wall discussed the inspirations for Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2's core sound and themes, explaining that game director Casey Hudson "wanted to play with 80s synth mixed with quasi-orchestra" music, which was the basis for the series' memorable vibe.

"He [Hudson] imagined a synthesizer and amp on stage with the orchestra. That was the idea, " Wall said, adding that Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, and other pieces from the 70s and 80s also influenced the soundtrack of the original Mass Effect.

"It was super cool and unique, as that idea hadn’t really been done before to my knowledge," he said. "At least not on this scale."

Wall explained Mass Effect was "less orchestra" and "more synthetic," while Mass Effect 2 added more orchestra, because "the design of the game changed."

He refers to the team compositions, explaining that each member of Shepard's team in Mass Effect 2 had their own missions and levels where they had to gather important assets for the final battle.

"We wanted to make sure that each level had its own sound," Wall said. "It was a good way for me to assign levels to my own composing team and be sort of the creative director of the score, write all of the main themes, and share with the team to sprinkle throughout to bring it all together. ME1 had more of the traditional leitmotif scoring, where places and/or people had their own themes."

The composition process, he said, was done by "writing to a picture," meaning gameplay, and formulating ideas from there. Mass Effect was the first game where Wall was able to see video capture to write to, and it "ensured that my vision for the score was closer to the actual game."

"When I hit something I like, I focus on that and just hone it until I feel that it’s ready to present to the client," he said. "My instincts are pretty good and I generally only get minor notes once we have an overall direction we can agree on, and we’re all rowing in the same direction. I had worked on Jade Empire with BioWare before ME1, and with that game all I had was artwork."

The composer went on to discuss Mass Effect's 'Vigil', which was a "particularly important track" that he wrote for the archives of the Protheans on the planet Ilos and that the team decided last minute to use for the menu music instead of the classic 'Mass Effect Theme' fans now know and love. Wall recalled booting up the game for the first time and hearing the music, saying it was worth it.

"It is in fact used there as you descend into the vaults where the Prothean crypt, giving a sense of wonder at what happened to the seemingly extinct race," he said. "But at the last moment before ship, instead of using the Mass Effect Theme on the load screen, the dev team swapped in Vigil and made the game so much more compelling with that one simple choice!

He added, "When I got the game and popped it into my Xbox, I was blown away to hear that track as the menu screen came up. The game instantly had a vibe."

• Original Mass Effect composer Jack Wall explains why the cinematic music was one of his "favourite" parts to write
• He says cinematic moments help "propel the story forward"
• Wall adds that cinematic music is "our opportunity to give the player goosebumps"

Jack Wall, the composer for Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, has explained how the game's cinematic music acted as an integral part of each narrative.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming, where the composer discussed BioWare's closure and how orchestral and synth music influenced the series, Wall said, "One of my favorite parts of being a composer for any game is the cinematic moments that propel the story forward."

He explained that cinematic moments accompanied by tracks are vital to the story, and "This is our opportunity to give the player goosebumps."

Wall explained that he wrote the music to be specifically connected to "both to places/environments and characters — always driving the story forward."

"The music won’t change in those moments depending on the gameplay as they are baked into the visuals," Wall added. "They are wonderful pauses for the player to just take it all in. Especially for a game like Mass Effect where those cinematics are generally rewards for getting to the next phase of gameplay."

Interestingly, Wall revealed that after he was hired for Mass Effect, BioWare divulged the entire story to him "along with the full arch of time, the Reapers, etc," providing him with a creative direction for the soundtrack.

"It was one of the most exciting sci-fi stories I’d ever heard," he said.

In the same interview, Wall also shared his favorite memories from working at BioWare and revealed that he considers Mass Effect 2's infamous final quest, Suicide Mission, to be "one of the 10 best endings for a video game ever."

You can feel the excitement in the air. Grand Theft Auto 6 will be available to play in less than two weeks, officially launching on November 19. We're fortunate here in Australia, as we'll be able to play the much-anticipated game before the rest of the world — our Kiwi cousins get it slightly earlier, but what's a few hours when we've had to wait 13 years.

That's only possible if you download the game ahead of time. And with preloading officially kicking off today, November 10, you'll want to make sure your NBN plan is ready to download the enormous 212GB file. If it isn't, there's still time to switch to one of the fastest NBN plans before launch day, so you can begin preloading and doing your bit to help avoid breaking the Australian internet.

And now is a great time to switch regardless, as several early Black Friday NBN deals have gone live, including an offer from Telstra that's almost too good to be true.

The telco is currently offering 50% off plan fees for four months across all of its plans, making it one of the cheapest providers for introductory pricing across several speed tiers. Yes, it happened — we got cheap Telstra NBN plans before GTA 6.

With the fastest NBN plans capable of downloading GTA 6 in as little as 14 minutes, compared with 56 minutes on slower connections, switching could make all the difference.

I’ve selected my top choice for each of the four speed tiers, with prices starting at AU$69 a month for Spintel’s NBN 750 plan.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1751) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1751) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1751) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1751) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1751) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1751) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1751, are…

• SHIRE
• DOPEY
• FICUS
• RIDGE

I had not heard of FICUS before trial and error got me there and subsequently now know that it is a plant genus that includes fig trees.

I learnt something disgusting about figs recently that put me off eating them for life.

If you would like to be similarly disgusted, Google “fig wasps”. But I’d recommend you don’t.

Daily Sequence today (game #1751) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1751, are…

• DRAPE
• SHOWN
• RHYME
• FIBER

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1750, Monday, 9 November: UNMET, SINEW, NADIR, VOGUE
• Quordle #1749, Sunday, 8 November: GREED, SPINE, STONY, OPIUM
• Quordle #1748, Saturday, 7 November: PROUD, ROCKY, FLAKY, MONTH
• Quordle #1747, Friday, 6 November: CHARD, THORN, COVER, OUTER
• Quordle #1746, Thursday, 5 November: SHINE, TAROT, VERGE, LANKY
• Quordle #1745, Wednesday, 4 November: JOIST, CROOK, DELAY, ICILY
• Quordle #1744, Tuesday, 3 November: TRIAL, STAID, LEVEL, BONUS
• Quordle #1743, Monday, 2 November: EXTRA, AMITY, LUPUS, EAGLE
• Quordle #1742, Sunday, 1 November: DROVE, PRIED, SHELL, BEGIN
• Quordle #1741, Saturday, 31 October: ANIME, SWARM, CHALK, RAJAH
• Quordle #1740, Friday, 30 October: ULCER, DIMLY, BRAIN, BEGUN
• Quordle #1739, Thursday, 29 October: PRUDE, MINUS, SAVOY, USHER
• Quordle #1738, Wednesday, 28 October: DEALT, FLUME, SLEEK, RELIC
• Quordle #1737, Tuesday, 27 October: ANKLE, HAVOC, SULKY, WHITE
• Quordle #1736, Monday, 26 October: ASSAY, GLEAM, MUCUS, WRING
• Quordle #1735, Sunday, 25 October: RAINY, BUSED, PROXY, UNDID
• Quordle #1734, Saturday, 24 October: TOXIN, SMART, MOUSE, STYLE
• Quordle #1733, Friday, 23 October: BLIMP, HOIST, FRIED, LURID
• Quordle #1732, Thursday, 22 October: DECAL, WIDTH, WOKEN, LEVER
• Quordle #1731, Wednesday, 21 October: MOIST, VALVE, VERSE, NORTH

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1248) - today's words

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• ABRACADABRA
• ONOMATOPOEIA
• APOTHECARY
• FOOFARAW
• OXYMORON
• PROTOZOOLOGY
• HULLABALOO
• HABERDASHER
• BEEKEEPER
• SCRIVENER
• HYPERBOLE
• BROUHAHA
• WAINWRIGHT
• KERFUFFLE
• INVISIBILITY
• METONYMY

NYT Connections today (game #1248) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: A loud fuss
• GREEN: Wordsmithery
• BLUE: Job titles of yesteryear
• PURPLE: The same letter a lot

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1248) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: HUBBUB
• GREEN: LITERARY DEVICES
• BLUE: OLD-TIMEY OCCUPATIONS
• PURPLE: WORDS WITH FIVE OF ONE VOWEL

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1248) - the answers

The answers to today's Connections, game #1248, are…

• YELLOW: HUBBUB: BROUHAHA, FOOFARAW, HULLABALOO, KERFUFFLE
• GREEN: LITERARY DEVICES: HYPERBOLE, METONYMY, ONOMATOPOEIA, OXYMORON
• BLUE: OLD-TIMEY OCCUPATIONS: APOTHECARY, HABERDASHER, SCRIVENER, WAINWRIGHT
• PURPLE: WORDS WITH FIVE OF ONE VOWEL: ABRACADABRA, BEEKEEPER, INVISIBILITY, PROTOZOOLOGY

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 3 mistakes

My one-word-review of today’s game is “frustrating”.

From the start I found the tiles very discombobulating in their wordiness, but that wasn’t what led to my frustration. Instead, it was crossovers. For HUBBUB I understood that I was looking for tiles about making an unnecessary fuss, but included HYPERBOLE instead of FOOFARAW.

Then, it took me three guesses to get OLD-TIMEY OCCUPATIONS, as I’d included BEEKEEPER because I thought APOTHECARY was a place, rather than an occupation. D'oh! And then I dropped SCRIVENER before finally getting the correct foursome.

Ah well, at least I got the groups in difficulty order.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Monday, November 9, 2026, game #1247)

• YELLOW: DECEITFUL SCHEME: CON JOB, FLIMFLAM, RIP-OFF, SHELL GAME
• GREEN: JEANS DESCRIPTORS: BOOTCUT, DISTRESSED, LOW-RISE, SKINNY
• BLUE: THINGS WITH SERRATED EDGES: GRAPEFRUIT SPOON, MINT LEAF, STEAK KNIFE, TAPE DISPENSER
• PURPLE: ENDING IN SEA CREATURES: CARD SHARK, FUN SPONGE, GAMMA RAY, NAVY SEAL

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #982) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #982) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• VIEWER
• TUSK
• LATER
• DOME
• SINGER
• TEAL

NYT Strands today (game #982) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #982) - hint #4 - spangram position

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #982) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #982, are…

• VLOG
• SKIT
• REACTION
• DEMO
• REVIEW
• TUTORIAL
• SPANGRAM: CONTENTCREATOR

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I managed to get my 114th Spangram First today — although it did come after finding one of the two places on the board that spelled out “creator”.

Incredibly, around 116 million people in the US consider themselves to be a CONTENTCREATOR, an incredible figure that equates to around 30% of the population — although when you think about it, even if you post a couple of photos a year on Instagram you are technically a content creator.

What sets the everyday creators apart from the influencer is that the latter produce the material in our search — REVIEWs, TUTORIALs, REACTIONs and so on.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, November 9, game #981)

• BANTER
• GOSSIP
• CHINWAG
• GABFEST
• SCHMOOZE
• SPANGRAM: SHOOTTHEBREEZE

The PlayStation Store is now joining in on the Black Friday fun with discounts of up to 75% on thousands of PS5 and PS4 games. I've searched through the sale to pick out a small selection of my favorites, including record-low prices on new releases, Game of the Year contenders, and highly-rated hits for super-cheap that I'd strongly recommend if you haven't tried them yet.

• View the full PlayStation Store Black Friday sale

For starters, there's IO Interactive's fantastic spy thriller 007 First Light, which does an incredible job of combining the linear action of the Uncharted series with the reactive and expansive sandboxes of the Hitman games.

I also have to mention Control Resonant, which has blown me away with its world design and creativity. The action is a little rough around the edges, but I can look past that when every other moment I'm wowed by some mind-bending new environment or ingenious set piece that establishes it as one of the most unique games this year.

Other games I've played recently that are on sale for surprisingly low prices are the harrowing Silent Hill 2 remake, gruelling yet absorbing climber Cairn, and the excellent action-RPG Remnant 2. All of these and more of my top picks from the PlayStation Black Friday sale are below.

PlayStation Store Black Friday sale — my top 5 deals

• Dispatch: was $29.99 now $23.99
• Silent Hill 2: was $69.99 now $19.59
• Cairn: was $29.99 now $20.99
• Rematch: was $29.99 now $11.99
• Remnant 2: was $49.99 now $14.99

PlayStation Store Black Friday sale — 16 best deals

• Rockstar Games announces Grand Theft Auto 6: The Festival for November 21
• The special live concert will feature music from artists in the game and on the official soundtrack
• A pre-sale lottery for tickets will be available on November 11

Rockstar Games has announced Grand Theft Auto 6: The Festival, a special live concert scheduled for after GTA 6's launch and featuring music from the game.

The Festival is set for November 21 at Mana Wynwood in Miami and will feature a star-studded lineup of artists from the game and the official soundtrack across two stages.

Those performances include: Cactus Jack presents Travis Scott, Don Toliver, Kodak Black, and Sofaygo; Cardi B; Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso; Justice (DJ set); Metro Boomin; Nick León B2B DJ Python; Prospa B2B Skream; Rauw & Friends; Suero; Tainy; The Dare B2B Fcukers (DJ set).

Rockstar has confirmed that a pre-sale lottery will be available for a chance to purchase tickets, beginning on Wednesday, November 11.

Tickets are limited to two per pre-sale lottery code, and the lottery closes at 4PM ET / 9PM GMT on Tuesday, November 10.

Fans can sign up for the GTA 6: The Festival lottery here, with entries limited to a maximum of one entry per person. Entries must also be from people aged 17+.

"Winners will be drawn at random from eligible entries and contacted by SMS with a code on Tuesday, November 10 by 7 P.M. ET," Rockstar said. "Odds of being selected will depend on the number of eligible entries received."

GTA 6 finally launches in just 10 days on November 19. Digital pre-loading will begin on November 10.

• Original Mass Effect composer Jack Wall hopes BioWare can be saved one day
• Wall says, "It’s sort of bananas to think of BioWare as just…gone"
• He adds, "I hope that someone else can come in and take it from here"

Original Mass Effect composer Jack Wall has reacted to EA shutting down BioWare and hopes the legendary studio can be saved one day.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming following the devastating news and cancelation of the next Mass Effect game, Mass Effect Universe, Wall said, "Frankly, it’s sort of bananas to think of BioWare as just…gone."

Wall worked on Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and agreed that the series is important enough to warrant saving, saying, "Mass Effect is such a wonderfully original universe. It feels like it should live on not only in games but TV and Film as well. The stories are so compelling."

The composer added, "Not sure where the Prime TV series sits at this time, but it would be really cool to see a show of this universe."

Following its closure, the studio released a statement saying that the "generations of BioWare built together is something to celebrate and remember." The shutdown came as part of EA's first major restructuring plan that led to 400 layoffs across the publisher's studios, including around 50 for the people remaining at BioWare.

Many creatives across the industry are urging someone, like another publisher, to save the developer before it's too late. Fans have also created a petition called "#SaveMassEffect" and wish to see BioWare's vision for the Mass Effect series continue.

Wall shared a similar sentiment about the studio, saying, "In short, I’m sad to see BioWare go. I hope that someone else can come in and take it from here."

• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 creative director Jan Theysen explains why the game revisits Kronus
• Theysen says King Art Games wanted to reintroduce Crusade Mode, which opened an opportunity to revisit the planet
• Crusade Mode was first introduced in the first Dawn of War game

King Art Games has explained why Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 will revisit Kronus and how the return of Crusade Mode played a part in the decision.

"It's basically the idea that coming back or going back to a place that you visited before is fun," creative director Jan Theysen shared with TechRadar Gaming when asked what the team's driving force was for Dawn of War 4 to revisit the planet.

"We also knew that we wanted to reintroduce the Crusade Mode, or the crusade-like planetary conquer-the-planet type of mode," he added.

Crusade Mode is a fan-favorite mode that had its origins in the first game's Dark Crusade expansion nearly 20 years ago, and King Art Games describes it as Dawn of War 4's "endless mode."

Players can replay the mode's extended campaigns over and over, featuring numerous territories spread across Kronus, and they’ll always play out differently each time, while also introducing extra gameplay variety to the base game.

"Somebody said, well, if we bring back the mode, wouldn't it be fun that it's on the same planet, right?" Theysen continued. "And you can revisit the territories and the stuff you remember from the first game, and we said, okay, why not? Great idea; it's on the right side of The Great Rift."

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 launches on PC on December 3, and Theysen has also suggested that the game could eventually come to console.

The creative director also told TechRadar Gaming how it ended up with four separate faction campaigns and that it considered adding other playable factions before deciding on Adeptus Mechanicus.

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1247) - today's words

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• STEAK KNIFE
• CARD SHARK
• CON JOB
• BOOTCUT
• NAVY SEAL
• SHELL GAME
• MINT LEAF
• GAMMA RAY
• TAPE DISPENSER
• LOW-RISE
• FUN SPONGE
• RIP-OFF
• SKINNY
• FLIMFLAM
• GRAPEFRUIT
• SPOON
• DISTRESSED

NYT Connections today (game #1247) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Designed to trick you
• GREEN: Well worn trousers
• BLUE: Share a jagged element
• PURPLE: Marine life second

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1247) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: DECEITFUL SCHEME
• GREEN: JEANS DESCRIPTORS
• BLUE: THINGS WITH SERRATED EDGES
• PURPLE: ENDING IN SEA CREATURES

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1247) - the answers

The answers to today's Connections, game #1247, are…

• YELLOW: DECEITFUL SCHEME: CON JOB, FLIMFLAM, RIP-OFF, SHELL GAME
• GREEN: JEANS DESCRIPTORS: BOOTCUT, DISTRESSED, LOW-RISE, SKINNY
• BLUE: THINGS WITH SERRATED EDGES: GRAPEFRUIT SPOON, MINT LEAF, STEAK KNIFE, TAPE DISPENSER
• PURPLE: ENDING IN SEA CREATURES: CARD SHARK, FUN SPONGE, GAMMA RAY, NAVY SEAL

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

It was hard not to begin with GRAPEFRUIT SPOON, as it seemed such an utterly random tile, and after I’d added MINT LEAF to the more obvious THINGS WITH SERRATED EDGES I was convinced that I’d landed a Purple First.

Alas, this foursome was only classed as a blue — although I’d argue that it was a more difficult spot than ENDING IN SEA CREATURES; congratulations if you chose to start here.

My failure to get the yellow came down to not realizing what SHELL GAME is — although after Googling it afterwards I remembered that as a gullible tourist I had fallen for it once in New Orleans and lost $20 guessing the location of a small ball. Fortunately, it’s the kind of trick you only fall for once, but there’s always a new fool, as it’s been around since Ancient Greece.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Sunday, November 8, 2026, game #1246)

• YELLOW: HAIR SALON SERVICES: BLOWOUT, COLOR, EXTENSIONS, TRIM
• GREEN: MUSCULAR: BUILT, CUT, JACKED, RIPPED
• BLUE: THINGS THAT HELP MAKE SENSE OF A SITUATION: CLARITY, CONTEXT, INSIGHT, PERSPECTIVE
• PURPLE: VEGETABLE HOMOPHONES: CARAT, CHARRED, KORN, LEAK

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1750) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1750) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1750) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1750) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1750) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1750) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1750, are…

• UNMET
• SINEW
• NADIR
• VOGUE

I wasn't certain that UNMET was a word when I entered it, but immediately wondered why I’d had my doubts.

I’d suffered no such hesitation earlier in the game, when some interesting letter positions gave me knotty words to untie in SINEW, NADIR and VOGUE.

Daily Sequence today (game #1750) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1750, are…

• BARGE
• DIODE
• INCUR
• APRON

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1749, Sunday, 8 November: GREED, SPINE, STONY, OPIUM
• Quordle #1748, Saturday, 7 November: PROUD, ROCKY, FLAKY, MONTH
• Quordle #1747, Friday, 6 November: CHARD, THORN, COVER, OUTER
• Quordle #1746, Thursday, 5 November: SHINE, TAROT, VERGE, LANKY
• Quordle #1745, Wednesday, 4 November: JOIST, CROOK, DELAY, ICILY
• Quordle #1744, Tuesday, 3 November: TRIAL, STAID, LEVEL, BONUS
• Quordle #1743, Monday, 2 November: EXTRA, AMITY, LUPUS, EAGLE
• Quordle #1742, Sunday, 1 November: DROVE, PRIED, SHELL, BEGIN
• Quordle #1741, Saturday, 31 October: ANIME, SWARM, CHALK, RAJAH
• Quordle #1740, Friday, 30 October: ULCER, DIMLY, BRAIN, BEGUN
• Quordle #1739, Thursday, 29 October: PRUDE, MINUS, SAVOY, USHER
• Quordle #1738, Wednesday, 28 October: DEALT, FLUME, SLEEK, RELIC
• Quordle #1737, Tuesday, 27 October: ANKLE, HAVOC, SULKY, WHITE
• Quordle #1736, Monday, 26 October: ASSAY, GLEAM, MUCUS, WRING
• Quordle #1735, Sunday, 25 October: RAINY, BUSED, PROXY, UNDID
• Quordle #1734, Saturday, 24 October: TOXIN, SMART, MOUSE, STYLE
• Quordle #1733, Friday, 23 October: BLIMP, HOIST, FRIED, LURID
• Quordle #1732, Thursday, 22 October: DECAL, WIDTH, WOKEN, LEVER
• Quordle #1731, Wednesday, 21 October: MOIST, VALVE, VERSE, NORTH
• Quordle #1730, Tuesday, 20 October: COYLY, SAUNA, TRIAL, RASPY

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #981) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #981) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• SPONGE
• GOTH
• STORE
• BARGE
• TABOO
• CHIN

NYT Strands today (game #981) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #981) - hint #4 - spangram position

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #981) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #981, are…

• BANTER
• GOSSIP
• CHINWAG
• GABFEST
• SCHMOOZE
• SPANGRAM: SHOOTTHEBREEZE

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 hint

Failing to spot the words connected to the two letter Zs today set me back and I lost confidence as I searched the board, finding nothing but non-game words.

Fortunately there were quite a few of those and a hint gave me BANTER, which set me on my way.

Back in the day I used to be a GOSSIP editor on a music magazine, but I was so bad at it that I had to invent stories — something that, rather oddly, the people involved didn’t seem very worried about after I realized that if I merely had to keep the stories silly and obviously fake (each week, Madonna would be spotted in a supermarket in a British town she had never visited or likely heard of, for instance).

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, November 8, game #980)

• KICKBOXING
• JUDO
• KARATE
• TAEKWONDO
• NINJUTSU
• SPANGRAM: MARTIALARTS

• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 creative director Jan Theysen explains how King Art Games balanced the four playable factions
• Theysen says the team starts by identifying the "feeling" of each faction, especially for newcomers
• He says King Art does a lot of testing with AI bots, but things can still change when players get their hands on the game

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 creative director Jan Theysen has explained how King Art Games balanced the four playable factions in the real-time strategy (RTS) game without compromising their fundamental traits and abilities.

Speaking in an interview with TechRadar Gaming, Theysen said it's a "super challenging" process balancing Space Marines, Orks, Necrons, and Adeptus Mechanicus, because it's "10s of 1000s of permutations of different units who can fight each other" with different equipment and abilities, and so the studio first focused on trying to identify the "feeling" of each faction.

"What we do is we try first to get the feeling for each of the factions; how is this faction supposed to feel? And then we try to do it in a way where players who do not know the faction still intuitively play them the right way," Theysen explained.

"For example, if you have Space Marine units and the Space Marine units are super, super expensive, and you can upgrade them with a lot of different stuff, you feel different about them than, let's say, Ork units that are dirt cheap, and you have a lot of them from the get go. But they also die pretty quickly, right?"

The creative director continued, saying "naturally and organically" players who play Orks, for example, will care a little less about individual units and will use them against bigger mobs, while Space Marine players will "organically" care more about individual units and try to keep them alive longer.

After this first phase is achieved, Theysen said anyone who plays the campaign will understand what's going on lore-wise, and then King Art needs to figure out the fundamental ideas of early-, mid-, and late-game units. Then comes the long testing phase.

"We need units that can do certain things, and all of that stuff is baked in," he said. "But as soon as we have that, then we start to let them play against each other, fight each other. We do this ourselves, of course, but we also have just [have] in-game AI play each other and give us statistics: who wins which combination on which map and so on.

"And then we start adjusting the dials a little bit and say, okay, the overall win rate for Necrons is too strong. Can we make them weaker, for example, without losing this core identity or this core feeling that we have?"

Theysen explained that "this is also an ongoing process, to be honest" because "you can do this as much as you want" but "as soon as real players get this into their hands, they come up with stuff you never thought about."

"If [players] do it like this, then actually there is an unfair advantage," he said. "So we have to somehow fix that."

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 launches on PC on December 3, and Theysen has also suggested that the game could eventually come to console while discussing which hero mechanics and UI features it borrowed from Dawn of War 2 and 3.