Hey there, Connectors! Welcome to the weekend!

I’ve mentioned a few times that I’d like Pastimes to be more of a community, and I haven’t done nearly enough to build that up on my end. I want to correct course and hopefully get more of you involved in what we’re doing here.

As such, I’d like to put together some pieces that involve contributions from you fine folks. My first idea is to serve up a collection of moments that changed our lives, for good and bad.

I have three such moments that I’m planning to include. I’d really love to hear about a moment (or moments) that changed your lives too, if you’re willing to share. You can stay anonymous or be credited however you wish.

If you’re reading this via email, just hit the reply button. Otherwise, you can email me at [email protected] (if you click that link, it’ll even fill in a subject line that’ll make it easier for me to find your email!).

I’ll include this prompt in the column a few times over the coming weeks before I put this thing together. Thanks!

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, November 14 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...

I had three of the four groups locked in by the time I was finished writing out today's word list. The classic strategy games jumped out at me first. Those were as clear as day.

The yellows and greens were up next. No trouble there either. I did not clock the purple category this time, unfortunately, but I'll happy take those as my default group. They refer to rattle, carriage, bottle and crib.

That's win number 622 in a row for yours truly. At this point, I'm hoping to get to 999 and then intentionally bottle it, just for a laugh.

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 originally planned to recommend this song tomorrow before realizing that the one I initially had lined up for today is probably more laidback, so I switched them. Just a little bit of inside baseball for you.

I recently made a joke that referenced this band, describing someone’s decor as “Neutral Milquetoast Hotel” (their place looked nice but boring!). I amused myself and have had Neutral Milk Hotel’s “Two-Headed Boy” lodged in my brain ever since. So, here it is for your enjoyment:

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

On weekdays, you can find this column over at Forbes. Please follow my blog there for more coverage of NYT Connections and other word games, and even some video game news, insights and analysis. It helps me out a lot!

Sharing this column with other people who play Connections would be appreciated too. Also, subscribe to this newsletter if you haven’t already!