NEW YORK — The New York Times Connections Sports Edition puzzle No. 606 for Friday, May 22, 2026, featured 16 sports-related words grouped into four categories centered on legendary NFL quarterbacks, Olympic track events, basketball free throw lines and famous baseball stadiums.

The puzzle, available through The Athletic, challenged players to sort the words into four groups of four. It carried a difficulty rating consistent with recent editions in the sports-themed variant.

The yellow category, typically the easiest, was “Legendary NFL quarterbacks“: BRADY, MANNING, MONTANA, RODGERS.

The green category was “Olympic track events”: HURDLES, MARATHON, RELAY, SPRINT.

The blue category was “Basketball free throw lines”: CHARITY STRIPE, FOUL LINE, FREE THROW LINE, PENALTY LINE.

The purple category, often the hardest, was “Famous baseball stadiums”: FENWAY, WRIGLEY, YANKEE, DODGER.

Connections Sports Edition, a collaboration between The New York Times and The Athletic, adapts the original Connections format with a sports focus. Players identify connections drawing from athletics, teams, rules and sports culture. The game resets daily at midnight local time and allows four mistakes.

Hints for puzzle 606 included “Hall of Fame passers” for the yellow group, “Distance running and sprinting” for the green group, “Where you shoot from” for the blue group and “Iconic ballparks” for the purple group.

Yesterday’s puzzle on May 21, No. 605, included categories such as seen at a college sporting event, pitching mound synonyms, Alpine skiing disciplines and Charlotte-based teams.

The sports edition launched from beta and remains accessible via The Athletic’s platform or app, separate from the main NYT Games app. It targets fans with knowledge spanning multiple sports.

Players shared solve grids on social media, with many noting the legendary quarterbacks group as accessible due to familiar NFL names. The baseball stadiums category required specific knowledge of iconic venues.

The Olympic track events group tested general sports knowledge, while the free throw lines category used multiple synonyms for the same basketball concept.

Community discussions highlighted the puzzle’s mix of mainstream and niche sports references. International players sometimes found U.S.-centric elements like specific baseball stadiums more challenging.

The New York Times and The Athletic publish companion content with progressive hints. For May 22, hints guided solvers toward Hall of Fame passers, running events, shooting lines and historic ballparks.

Connections Sports Edition builds on the popularity of the original game while incorporating trivia from football, track and field, basketball and baseball. No word repeats across puzzles, with editors curating balanced difficulty.

Strategies include scanning for obvious clusters like famous athletes or venue names. Players often start with yellow groups before tackling purple. Non-theme words serve as distractors to increase challenge.

Tomorrow’s puzzle, No. 607 for May 23, 2026, will present a new grid at midnight. The Athletic offers a Coach section for additional hints and player discussions.

The game supports engagement across devices through web and app access. Features include color-coded feedback and shareable results using emoji grids.

As of midday May 22, online forums discussed solve paths for puzzle 606, with users comparing times and noting near-misses involving overlapping sports terms. Many completed it within the allowed mistakes after identifying the quarterbacks and stadium groups.

Educational value includes reinforcing sports knowledge, geography of venues and terminology across leagues. The puzzle format promotes logical grouping and elimination strategies.

Connections Sports Edition continues to grow as part of The Athletic’s puzzle offerings alongside the main Connections. Puzzle 606 exemplified the blend of accessible and specialized categories that defines the series.