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Connections is the latest New York Times word game that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for October 17's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: Hurdle hints and answers for October 18 What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for October 18 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hit about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Sorry this wasn't it pal

• Green: You only get one

• Blue: Cashless transactions

• Purple: Types of Amazons

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow - Clunker

• Green - Opportunity

• Blue - Non-Cash Way to Pay

• Purple - Amazon___

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #493 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Clunker: BUST, DUD, FLOP, MISS

• Opportunity: CHANCE, SHOT, TIME, TURN

• Non-Cash Way to Pay: CARD, CHARGE, CREDIT, PLASTIC

• Amazon___: KINDLE, PRIME, RAINFOREST, RIVER

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for October 17

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

SEE ALSO: Mini crossword answers for October 17

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.

Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield discuss the ways that food is utilized in 'We Live in Time' and how Florence Pugh's culinary background was able to flourish in this film.

Megan Thee Stallion and Venom have a silly FaceTime call in a promotional clip for "Venom: The Last Dance," out Oct. 25.

We warned you that this change was coming – but X has just made it official: Blocking on Elon Musk's social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, will no longer actually block users from viewing content — and now users appear to be fleeing X once again. 

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Essentially, a block on X will now just mean that a blocked user can't interact with your posts. They can still see them though, which was not the case before this change. The change to the block function was met with largely negative reactions, with even Musk supporters pointing out the user safety concerns that come with this shift.

SEE ALSO: Musk is gutting X's blocking feature — why this change is dangerous

And it appears the change in the block function was enough for some users to flee to a new social media platform. X alternative Bluesky announced on Thursday that it had gained half a million new users in the 24 hours since X made the formal announcement about the change.

update: half a million new people in the last day 🤯 welcome, いらっしゃいませ, 환영, bem-vindo! 🦋🎉

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— Bluesky (@bsky.app) October 17, 2024 at 1:00 PM Bluesky grows by 500,000 in 24 hours

Bluesky is one of the few X alternatives that have found success after Musk's acquisition of then-Twitter. It is the third largest micro-blogging type social media platform after competitors X and Meta's Threads. However, unlike those two companies, Bluesky is registered as a public benefit corporation, and brands itself as the decentralized social media platform (Threads also has decentralization features).

"welcome to the 100k+ people who have joined Bluesky in the last 12 hours!!!" the official Bluesky account on Bluesky announced just after 2am on Oct. 17.

welcome to the 100k+ people who have joined Bluesky in the last 12 hours!!! 🦋 🎉

— Bluesky (@bsky.app) October 17, 2024 at 2:22 AM

Bluesky then followed up with an update close to the 24 hour mark.

"update: half a million new people in the last day," the official Bluesky account posted.

Both Bluesky and Threads tend to notice a bump in user sign-ups after Musk makes a decision that appears to alienate X users. However, despite having fewer resources than the Instagram-linked Threads, Bluesky continues to attract hundreds of thousands of new users every time X users set off for a new home

For example, when Brazil banned X from operating in the country last month due to the company's refusal to comply with its laws, Bluesky touted another surge in user growth. In just one week, the social media platform gained 3 million new users.

Shortly after that bump in user numbers, Bluesky announced that it had hit 10 million users. Now, thanks to this latest move by X, Bluesky has just blown past 11 million users. It'll be interesting to see what X does next to bring about Bluesky's next milestone.

Elon Musk's X is moving forward with his proposed changes to blocking users, a shift that allows blocked accounts to see a user's public profile and posts but prevents them from interacting with the content. 

Musk, who has long made it known he doesn't agree with the current blocking and moderation environment online, sees the account blocking standard as ineffectual, with bad actors using alternative accounts or private browsers to get around the block. 

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The notion is a fragment of the truth. Blocking has never been an effective solution for online harassment. Nor does it guarantee a user's online safety. But it's a first defense against bad actors and abusers in online spaces. And, when used in conjunction with more expansive measures and online safety education, it fills out a user's safe online experience toolbox.  

A standard blocking feature is also a required safety component for downloadable social media apps in online marketplaces. So what will happen when it's gone?

SEE ALSO: Bluesky gains half a million new users in one day after X changes how blocking works Stalking, harassment, and the rise of deepfakes make blocking necessary

Almost a month after Musk initially posted about the change, X users logged on to find a formal pop-up from the platform alerting users to the change. Many were enraged, calling it a misunderstanding of how blocking is fundamentally used and a move that will only support further stalking and harassment.  

Users pointed out that the block button is often the first recourse in situations of mass doxxing or online verbal abuse, like death threats, spurred by a viral post or controversy. Most noted that the new blocking tool makes being online even more difficult for those choosing to keep public accounts, often for professional reasons, essentially forcing users to switch to private profiles if they don't want previously blocked accounts to view their musings and photos. It's essential for many in setting online boundaries.

It also means less protections for communities and identities already at risk for harassment. GLAAD's 2024 Social Media Safety Index, an annual review of online platforms' protection policies, found that X was the most unsafe platform for LGBTQ users. The same was true in 2023. Advocacy organizations like the Trevor Project frequently recommend at-risk users exercise the ability to block users liberally. 

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X's altered blocking features could have even greater repercussions on young users, too, who already face higher risks of abuse on these platforms amid a national mental health crisis. 

A report by Thorn, a tech nonprofit combating child sexual abuse, found that teens rely heavily on online safety tools to defend themselves in digital spaces, and are "most likely to use blocking and leverage it as a tool for cutting off contact in an attempt to stop future harassment," according to the organization. 

"Online safety tools serve as a primary defense for minors facing harmful online sexual interactions," the report reads. "Many youth prefer using tools like blocking, reporting, and muting over seeking help from their offline community. In fact, teenagers are about twice as likely to use these online tools than to talk to someone in their real-life network." 

This reliance on digital features by young users conjures up other issues — an overreliance on piecemeal platform policies, as well as a sense of shame and fear in reporting these interactions to people in real life, to name a few — but that won't be solved by removing the features altogether. 

X is already failing to appropriately address concerns about content moderation on its platform, and has been relying on an opaque policy of "rehabilitating" its offending users. As the amount of AI-generated child sexual abuse material, lamely checked by Big Tech, increases, open access to youth accounts and the media they post is even more concerning.  

At large, social media platforms have been under fire for their failures to address online safety and mental well-being. While Musk has brought back some safety and moderation offerings (after gutting them), other social media platforms have leaned more severely into customizable online safety tools, including blocking features. Instagram's recent "Limits" and "Teen Accounts," for example, have built up even more barriers between young users and strangers online — it's parent company Meta has introduced similar restriction across its platforms.