All-Star Phrase Pattern

NYT Connections: Sports Edition on Monday, June 29, turned into a deceptively tricky puzzle for anyone tackling game No. 644. The grid mixed Los Angeles sports identities, Wimbledon women’s singles champions, Scottish soccer clubs, and a playful “All-Star” phrase pattern. The challenge was not only knowing the names, but also separating familiar sports terms that could fit more than one idea at first glance. That is what made the puzzle feel manageable at the start and increasingly difficult once the categories began to overlap. What made #644 feel so slippery Connections: Sports Edition is a daily word game from The Athletic, the sports outlet owned by The New York Times. Unlike the standard Connections game, every clue is rooted in sports, which often makes the categories feel familiar before they suddenly become deceptive. Each puzzle contains 16 words that must be sorted into four hidden groups of four. Players get only four mistakes, so even a strong first guess can matter a great deal. Category Color What It Usually Means Difficulty Yellow Easiest group Lowest Green More difficult than yellow Moderate Blue Requires stronger pattern recognition Hard Purple Most creative association Hardest The June 29 grid included Bruin, Charger, Laker, Trojan, Barty, Graf, King, Williams, Celtic, Hearts, Motherwell, Rangers, Break, Game, Team, and Weekend. Those words point to teams, athletes, clubs, and a phrase-completion clue that can pull attention in a different direction. The four categories behind the puzzle The easiest group centered on Los Angeles sports identity. Bruin, Charger, Laker, and Trojan all fit the label “A Los Angeles Athlete.” Another group focused on tennis history at Wimbledon. Barty, Graf, King, and Williams belonged together as “Wimbledon Women’s Singles Winners.” Scottish football and a phrase trick The blue category gathered Celtic, Hearts, Motherwell, and Rangers, which formed the set “Scottish Soccer Clubs.” The final group was the trickiest because it relied on a phrase frame rather than a direct sports fact. Break, Game, Team, and Weekend all completed the pattern “All-Star ____.” That last category is the kind of move that often catches players off guard, since the words can look obvious on their own but lose clarity when the puzzle demands a shared ending. It is also why a word such as Williams can seem especially persuasive before the full group becomes clear. How to approach a grid like this A careful first pass matters in Sports Edition because the set is built to reward recognition, but punish overconfidence. Reading all 16 words before selecting a group gives players a better chance to notice which terms belong to a clear sports theme and which ones are working as part of a phrase. Starting with the most obvious sports references can help narrow the board early. From there, the challenge becomes separating names of athletes from names of teams, then leaving the more abstract category for last. The format also explains why the puzzle can stay interesting even when the words seem well known. Celtic and Rangers are strongly associated with Scottish football, while Wimbledon winners like King and Williams are easy to recognize, but the wordplay in the final group adds a second layer of difficulty. Connections: Sports Edition is available online for free and through The Athletic app. It is not part of the NYT Games app, and a new puzzle arrives every day. For context, the June 28 game, No. 643, featured Style, Basketball Statistics (Abbreviated), France World Cup Squad Members, and NBA Arenas. That range shows how quickly the Sports Edition shifts from statistics to tournaments, national teams, and broader sports culture. Players who prefer a gentler path can still use a preview-style strategy: scan the board, identify the clearest sports family first, and save the most puzzling terms until later. On June 29, that approach was especially useful because the board looked straightforward right up until the final “All-Star” trap. Source: sundayguardianlive.com

The Calm Before a Trap, How NYT Connections Sports Edition Hid a Tough #644 Grid