Here’s your Sunday Connections, here to give you an early brain workout for the day. Or a late brain workout if you prefer to play later on. Either way, it’s a challenge.What should you do once you’ve finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I’ve also got daily Wordle hints and answers, Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too.SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.Your Connections expertYour Connections expertMarc McLarenSocial Links NavigationGlobal Editor in ChiefNYT Connections today (game #371) – today’s words(Image credit: New York Times)Today’s NYT Connections words are…FISHBUSHFLAMINGOSHAPEFOUNTAINFOLKCOUNTRYFAIRYGNOMESTATETALLSTICKSFORMWOODSPINWHEELCONDITIONNYT Connections today (game #371) – hint #1 – group hintsWhat are some clues for today’s NYT Connections groups?Yellow: The thing at handGreen: Back of beyondBlue: Outdoor decorationsPurple: _[another word for] storyNeed more clues?We’re firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today’s NYT Connections puzzles…Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.NYT Connections today (game #371) – hint #2 – group answersWhat are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?YELLOW: CURRENT SITUATIONBLUE: CLASSIC LAWN ORNAMENTSPURPLE: ___ TALEGREEN: REMOTE RURAL AREARight, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.NYT Connections today (game #371) – the answers(Image credit: New York Times)The answers to today’s Connections, game #371, are…YELLOW: CURRENT SITUATION CONDITION, FORM, SHAPE, STATEGREEN: REMOTE RURAL AREA BUSH, COUNTRY, STICKS, WOODSBLUE: CLASSIC LAWN ORNAMENTS FLAMINGO, FOUNTAIN, GNOME, PINWHEELPURPLE: ___ TALE FAIRY, FISH, FOLK, TALLMy rating: ModerateMy score: Three mistakesI made a real mess of this one, escaping with no guesses remaining but on a puzzle that really shouldn’t have been so tough.Things started poorly and rapidly got worse; I saw GNOME, FOUNTAIN and FLAMINGO and immediately thought that it would be something to do with gardens. So I added FISH, thinking of a pond, and when that was wrong made matters worse by trying BUSH. Stupid, stupid, stupid.I then moved away from that, and picked up the _TALE group, of FAIRY, FOLK, TALL and FISH, but only after inexplicably guessing BUSH again, rather than FISH, and using up my third mistake. What is a BUSH TALE? No idea, I do not know why I played it.With purple solved, eventually, things got easier and I was able to spot the yellow group, before returning to the garden and adding PINWHEEL to the set. I don’t know what a pinwheel is, but it felt like it should fit, and indeed it did. That left the green group, which by this point was blindingly obvious, and which I really should have spotted sooner. D’oh!How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Saturday, 15 June, game #370)YELLOW: BASKETBALL SHOTS DUNK, FLOATER, LAYUP, THREEGREEN: FISH PERCH, PIKE, SKATE, SOLEBLUE: QUALITIES OF THICK HAIR BODY, BOUNCE, LIFT, VOLUMEPURPLE: ___ CHILD FLOWER, ONLY, POSTER, PROBLEMWhat is NYT Connections?NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.On the plus side, you don’t technically need to solve the final one, as you’ll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What’s more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.It’s a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.It’s playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.