A puzzle requiring the solver to uncover a hidden connection between several items in one or more lists or sets. For partition-style connecting wall puzzles (à la the BBC's Only Connect or the NYT's 'Connections' puzzle), use [connect-wall] instead. For 'what comes next in this sequence?' puzzles, use [sequence] instead.
Puzzles revolving around 'connections' usually require the solver to identify a common link or property between several items in a list or set. These 'items' are most commonly words, phrases, numbers, symbols, photographs or other images, or are given in the form of trivia questions whose answers share a particular property.
In some instances the connected items are members of an incomplete set which is missing a single member, and this must be identified by the solver.
Simple examples:
- What connects the following phrases? MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK, ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, HONOURS EVEN, JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST.
All contain hidden numbers, spelled out: MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK, ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, HONOURS EVEN, JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST.
- What is the connection between the following people? Which 21st century US President is missing from the set?
- The founder of WikiLeaks;
- The star of Diagnosis Murder;
- The second wife of Henry VIII;
- The host of Wacaday.
All share their first names with members of Enid Blyton's Famous Five: JULIAN Assange, DICK Van Dyke, ANNE Boleyn, and TIMMY Mallett. The missing member of the fictional group is George, making the missing US President GEORGE W. Bush.
Exclusions:
'Connecting wall' type questions, of the sort originally seen in the BBC quiz show Only Connect (first aired 2008) and - more lately - the NYT's 'Connections' puzzle (first published 2023), in which solvers must partition a set of jumbled clues into distinct categories based on shared connections should instead use the connect-wall tag.
Questions asking 'What comes next in this sequence?' should not generally use the connections-puzzle tag, since the sequence tag is designed for this purpose, alongside number-sequence, letter-sequence or word-sequence if/as appropriate.
