Hey there, Connectors! Welcome to the weekend!

Whenever I play a game these days, it’s usually on PC. I have a good PC that I paid a fair chunk of change for two and a half years ago. It should hopefully (especially with the skyrocketing prices of components) be able to handle ever-demanding new games for at least another couple of years.

However, I’m very weary of playing games in the same spot where I’m working all day. So I decided to set things up so I can play PC games from my TV instead. As it happens, around the time I was making this decision, Valve released the long-awaited Steam Machine. The aim of this is to bring PC gaming to the living room with (as much as possible) the ease of use of consoles.

This thing turned out to be more expensive than anyone was really expecting. Again, this is due to rising prices of components because of AI data centers. But I still bought one. It’s… fine? Definitely overpriced for what you’re getting. And I absolutely do not need it.

You see, my desk is about three feet away from my TV. I can just do what I should have years ago: connect my PC to my TV with an HDMI cable and use a wireless keyboard and mouse or controller. There’s no good reason for me to have a Steam Machine, so I’m returning it. As my colleague who reviewed the system noted, it’s not worth the $1,049 USD that Valve is charging.

(The main reason I wanted a Steam Machine was to test various games so I could tell readers about my experiences with them. It was going to be primarily for work, so it would be a business expense. Even then, I can’t really justify having one right now.)

Before we begin, we have a great little community on Discord, where we chat about NYT Connections, the rest of the NYT games and all kinds of other stuff. Everyone who has joined has been lovely. It’s a fun hangout spot, and you’re more than welcome to join us.

Discord is also the best way to give me any feedback about the column, especially on the rare (or not-so-rare) occasions that I mess something up. I don’t look at Twitter much.

Today’s NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, July 18 are coming right up.

Scroll slowly! Just after the hints for each of today’s Connections groups, I’ll reveal what the groups are without immediately telling you which words go into them.

Today’s 16 words are...

The level one hints for today’s Connections groups are:

Be warned: we’re really starting to get into spoiler territory.

Let’s take a look at one word for each group.

Today’s Connections word hints are…

Need some extra help?

Today’s Connections groups are...

Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll any further down the page until you’re ready to find out today’s Connections answers.

This is your final warning!

Today’s Connections answers are...

DOUBLE DRIBBLE gave the yellows away. Couldn't really be anything else unless there was some wordplay going on.

The greens were next. No problem there either. CULTURE and QUIZ then helped me get the purples. As it happens, I've been playing a baseball video game in which I've been getting annoyed by the opposing team hitting pop flies (i.e. hitting the ball high in the air without much distance).

That — and the fact I play and write about video games quite a bit! — makes it more galling that I didn't get the blues much earlier. The category finally clicked once they were all on the same line.

That extends my streak to 503 wins in a row.

How did you get on this time? Here's my grid:

🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟦🟦🟦🟦

That’s all there is to it for today’s Connections clues and answers. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter for hints and the solution for Sunday’s game if you need them.

P.S. I was already planning on making this the recommendation before solving today's puzzle, so now it's pretty apt. This year's edition of Summer Games Done Quick took place recently. It's a semi-annual event (along with Awesome Games Done Quick in January) in which talented gamers tear through video games as quickly as possible under certain conditions. It's all in the name of charity, with this edition raising over $2 million for Doctors Without Borders.

I love the segments during which things get really weird with Mario games. For a long time now, people have been making custom, ultra-hard games based on Super Mario World (a top-five game of all time for me). During SGDQ, two teams took on several co-op levels that they'd never seen before. If you're familiar with Super Mario World, you'll understand just how bonkers some of this stuff is. Even if you're not, I still think you'll enjoy it:

There was another Mario showcase that involved two players taking on levels that were designed to mess with them. Again, it helps if you’re familiar with Mario games, but even if not, I think you might find this funny:

Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Be kind to yourself and each other! Call someone you love!

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