The Athletic, in collaboration with New York Times Games, will officially launch its first daily sports game, Connections: Sports Edition, on Sunday, February 9.
Following the success of the flagship Connections— last year’s most-searched game on Google with tens of millions of daily players — Connections: Sports Edition features categories that challenge fans’ sports knowledge through word game logic.
Written by The Athletic’s managing editor for News — and now puzzle editor — Mark Cooper, the game invites players to group 16 sports-related terms into four categories of four, with a maximum of four mistakes along the way. Sports fans can participate in a quick “game break” daily, with a new sports puzzle challenge released at midnight local time at theathletic.com/connections
The new game will officially launch on Sunday, February 9, bringing dedicated sports fans another game to enjoy during the Big Game. Fans nationwide will be encouraged to test their sports knowledge with a Big Game-themed puzzle. Local fans in Philadelphia and Kansas City — plus Buffalo and Washington, D.C. — will be encouraged to play the game live during halftime with a quick “game break” within the broadcast.
The Athletic is a sports subscription service owned by The New York Times. A subscription is regularly $72 per year but you can usually find discounts for annual or weekly prices. The NY Times Company reported there were 5.54 million subscribers to The Athletic at the end of the third quarter 2024.
“Building off the enthusiasm surrounding Connections and the passion sports fans have for competition and bragging rights, we combined the puzzle expertise of the New York Times Games team with the sports expertise of The Athletic to create our first game catering to sports fans,” said David Perpich, publisher of The Athletic. “We know fans already turn to The Athletic for deep reporting on their favorite teams and leagues, and Connections: Sports Edition feels like the perfect opportunity for them to pair their sports knowledge with fun wordplay. And what better time to officially launch than during the biggest game day of the year.”