Below: the Melio Connections puzzle for Thursday, October 1, 2026, a progressive hint ladder so you can work toward the solution without spoiling it, and the full color-coded grouping if you want the answer outright.
Heads up: Melio’s Connections grids are independently authored. The answers for Thursday, October 1, 2026 below are the Melio answers, not the NYT ones.
The 16 words
ROME
ROWING
LONDON
CHARIZARD
FENCING
SQUARE
BOWLINE
SQUIRTLE
ARCHERY
PIKACHU
BULBASAUR
HALF
DIVING
PARIS
GRANNY
MADRID
Hint ladder
Spoiler warning
Stage 1: letter spread
Today's 16 words are spread across the alphabet. The most common starting letters are P (2×), R (2×), B (2×), S (2×).
Stage 2: yellow theme
The yellow group's theme is "European capitals". That's the easiest grouping; pick the four words that fit and you're a quarter of the way through.
Stage 3: yellow group reveal
The four yellow words are: PARIS, LONDON, MADRID, ROME.
PARISLONDONMADRIDROME
Stage 4: all four themes
The four categories, in order from easiest to hardest, are: Yellow (easiest): "European capitals" · Green: "Olympic sports" · Blue: "Pokemon starters" · Purple (trickiest): "Types of knot".
Stage 5: full solution
Below is the full grouping; each row is one category.