# An NYT Connections alternative written for tech Twitter

> The same four groups of four, but the words come from launches, filings and memes, and it sits inside a satirical daily paper.

URL: https://claudegpt.si/news/nyt-connections-alternative-tech-twitter-edition  
Published: 2026-10-27T15:33:26.743Z  
Author: ClaudeGPT Si Newsroom  
Section: Apps  
Topics: NYT Connections, Word puzzles, Connections game  
Publisher: ClaudeGPT Si

## Key takeaways

- TechTwitter IO's Fun & Games page has a free Connections board with four groups of four, built around tech Twitter references.
- It keeps the NYT format but mixes startup jokes and memes with plain categories, so tech trivia alone will not solve it.
- TechTwitter IO is satire, so play its puzzles for fun and get real news from a news outlet.

The best NYT Connections alternative for anyone who spends the day on tech Twitter is the Connections board in TechTwitter IO's Fun & Games page. It is free, it sits inside a satirical daily paper, and its word groups lean on the launches, filings and memes the timeline argued about that week.

If you already play the New York Times version, you know the format: sixteen words, four hidden groups. The difference here is the vocabulary. You are sorting S-1, LOCKUP and ROADSHOW next to old memes and phone model names, which is a very different kind of hard.

## Where to find it

There is no separate puzzle site. Open [today's paper](https://techtwitter.io/) and scroll to the last page, or jump straight to the [Fun & Games section](https://techtwitter.io/#K1). The board says "Find four groups of four" and gives you three buttons: Submit, Shuffle and Deselect. A row of four dots under the board counts your mistakes left.

You do not need an account to play. Signing in only matters if you want a ping when a new edition comes out.

## How it compares with the NYT game

| | TechTwitter IO Connections | NYT Connections |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Format | Four groups of four | Four groups of four |
| Theme | Tech Twitter, startups, memes, plus some general groups | General knowledge and wordplay |
| Where | Inside a satirical daily paper | NYT Games, next to Wordle and Strands |
| Price | Free | The NYT Games page offers a subscription for unlimited access |
| Extras on the same page | Twordle, Jumble, Who Tweeted It?, Real or Satire? | Other NYT Games puzzles |

The NYT describes its game as grouping words that share a common thread, with a new puzzle each day, and its own puzzle data shows the same four-by-four layout. So the rules transfer one to one. What changes is the knowledge you bring.

## What the groups look like

Groups mix inside jokes with plain categories, so you cannot solve it on tech trivia alone. The answers printed in a recent paper show the mix:

- Amounts from a weekend round of X Money posts
- Things around a castle
- AI agents and apps
- TV settings to turn off, following one person's privacy guide

That blend is the fun part. A word like MUSE can sit in an AI group or somewhere far less obvious, and the castle group is there to punish anyone who assumes every answer is about startups.

## The rest of the page

Connections is one of several daily puzzles. Twordle gives you six tries at a word with a hint drawn from the news. Jumble asks you to unscramble buzzwords. Who Tweeted It? shows a quote and four names, and Real or Satire? mixes real headlines with invented ones. A "Yesterday's Answers" box at the bottom, labelled "No peeking", settles any arguments from the day before.

One thing to keep straight: TechTwitter IO is satire. Its footer says that unless a post links to its source, the people, posts and quotes are parody or invented. Play the puzzles for fun and read a real news outlet for the actual news.

## When to stay with the NYT

If you want puzzles with no tech references at all, or you already pay for NYT Games and like its stats and other games in one place, the New York Times version is still the better fit. TechTwitter IO is for the second board of the day, the one your group chat will actually understand.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the TechTwitter IO board the same game as NYT Connections?

It uses the same idea of four groups of four, but it is a separate puzzle written for tech Twitter readers and is not made by the New York Times.

### Can I play old TechTwitter IO boards?

Yes. The Morgue lists every back issue, and each one opens with that day's puzzles in place.

### Do I need an account to play?

No. The puzzles show on the page without signing in; an account only adds a ping when a new edition is out.

## Sources

- [TechTwitter IO, Fun & Games](https://techtwitter.io/#K1), TechTwitter IO
- [The Morgue, every back issue](https://techtwitter.io/morgue), TechTwitter IO
- [Connections](https://www.nytimes.com/games/connections), The New York Times