How is this different from NYT Connections?

Same format — sixteen tiles, four hidden groups of four, four mistakes allowed — but every tile is a country and every category is geographic or a country-name pattern. A new grid goes live daily at 00:00 UTC.

What kinds of categories appear?

Continents, official languages, landlocked or island status, driving side, the euro, countries that share a border with a particular neighbour, first letters, and name patterns like ending in “-stan” or “-land”, or sharing a first letter with the capital.

Is there always exactly one solution?

Yes. The board is built so every country satisfies exactly one of the four categories — any country that would fit two of them is left off the grid entirely, so there is never an ambiguous tile.

How many guesses do I get?

As many as you like, but only four mistakes. Each wrong group of four uses one mistake; find all four correct groups before you run out.

Can I replay or play past grids?

It's one grid per day by design, so the shared result means something. For endless country-grouping practice, try Odd One Out, which gives you a fresh set every round.

Yes — no account, no app, no limit beyond the one daily grid. Your streak and stats live only in your browser.

Country Connections — Daily Grouping Game

Country Connections — group sixteen countries into four hidden sets

Country Connections is a daily grouping puzzle inspired by NYT Connections, played entirely with countries. You get a four-by-four grid of sixteen nations, and four hidden categories that each cover exactly four of them: a continent, an official language, countries that border the same neighbour, a name that ends in “-stan”, and so on. Pick four tiles you think belong together and submit. Four wrong guesses and the game is over. The grid is the same for everyone on a given day, and the finish screen gives you a spoiler-free block of coloured squares to share.

How to play

Tap four country tiles that you think share a hidden link, then press Submit. A correct set locks in as a coloured row — yellow is the most straightforward group, purple the trickiest. A wrong set costs one of your four mistakes, and if you were one tile away you'll be told. Use Shuffle to rearrange the grid and Deselect All to start a selection over. Solve all four groups before your mistakes run out. Each country belongs to exactly one group, so there is always a single clean solution — the challenge is seeing past the decoys.

What this game improves

Connects facts you already know — borders, languages, regions — into patterns
Rewards careful elimination over guessing, like a good logic puzzle
Surfaces links between countries you'd never think to compare
A single quick daily grid, easy to compare with friends

Tips

Start from the group you're surest of, but don't submit until you've ruled out overlaps
Watch for decoys: a Spanish-speaking country that's also in South America can only be in one group
Purple is usually wordplay — a suffix, a shared initial, a hidden pattern in the name
If you're stuck, solve the other three groups and the last four sort themselves

Skills you practice

categorisation · logical elimination · country knowledge · pattern spotting

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from NYT Connections?: Same format — sixteen tiles, four hidden groups of four, four mistakes allowed — but every tile is a country and every category is geographic or a country-name pattern. A new grid goes live daily at 00:00 UTC.
What kinds of categories appear?: Continents, official languages, landlocked or island status, driving side, the euro, countries that share a border with a particular neighbour, first letters, and name patterns like ending in “-stan” or “-land”, or sharing a first letter with the capital.
Is there always exactly one solution?: Yes. The board is built so every country satisfies exactly one of the four categories — any country that would fit two of them is left off the grid entirely, so there is never an ambiguous tile.
How many guesses do I get?: As many as you like, but only four mistakes. Each wrong group of four uses one mistake; find all four correct groups before you run out.
Can I replay or play past grids?: It's one grid per day by design, so the shared result means something. For endless country-grouping practice, try Odd One Out, which gives you a fresh set every round.
Is it free?: Yes — no account, no app, no limit beyond the one daily grid. Your streak and stats live only in your browser.

More geography games

Flag Colors — Guess the country from a pie chart of its flag's exact color percentages — no symbols, just hues. Six tries with continent, capital, and blurred-flag hints.
Flag Reveal — A national flag starts heavily blurred and sharpens second by second. Name the country before time runs out — four difficulty levels, unlimited guesses, scored by speed.
Guess the Capital — See a country name and its flag — name the capital city in six tries. Hints reveal the first letter, subregion, language, and more.
Country from Capital — Work backwards: a capital city is shown and you name the country it belongs to. Six tries with continent, population, and blurred-flag hints.
Population Ranking — Four countries appear shuffled — drag them into population order, most populous at the top. Four tries with slot-by-slot feedback.
Population Higher or Lower — Two countries, one population shown. Tap higher or lower — build a streak until you get one wrong.
Area Ranking — Rank four countries by land area from largest to smallest. Four tries with position feedback after each submission.
Guess the Flag — The classic flag quiz: see a country's full flag and name it in six tries. Wrong guesses unlock continent, capital, population, and subregion hints.
Flag Memory — Flip cards to find matching flag pairs. Choose a 3×3 to 6×6 board and optionally show country names on each card.
Guess the Country — No flag, no map — just clues. Start with the region and population, then unlock area, languages, borders, a fact, and the capital. Name the country in six tries.
Which Continent? — A country and its flag appear — tap the continent it belongs to. One wrong answer ends the streak. Fast, no typing, mobile-friendly.
Area Higher or Lower — Two countries, one land area shown. Is the other bigger or smaller? Build a streak until you get one wrong.
Border Count — A country appears — how many other countries does it border? Tap the number. One wrong answer ends the streak.
Find the Country — A country name appears — click it on the world map. Twenty per round, scored on accuracy and speed. Point-and-click location practice.
Name the Country — A country lights up on the map — name it. Twenty per round. Trains the reverse of Find the Country: shape and position to name.
Country Shape Quiz — A country's outline appears with no borders, labels or colour. Name it. One wrong answer ends the streak.
Border Chain — Start from one country and name a neighbour, then a neighbour of that, building the longest chain of bordering countries you can. No repeats.
Odd One Out — Four countries, three with something in common — continent, region, first letter, coastline or hemisphere. Spot the outlier. One miss ends the streak.
Where in the World — A country's outline appears with nothing else. Guess it in six — every miss tells you how many kilometres away you are and which way to go.

Explore every flag of the world, browse country fact pages, read the geography guides, or see all geography games.